University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH 
LEWIS  AND  CLARK 


DID  THEY  SET  THE  PRAIRIE  AFIRE  JUST  TO  BURN  HIM,  A  BOY? 

Page  51 


OPENING  THE  WEST 

WITH 

LEWIS  AND   CLARK 


BY  BOAT,  HORSE  AND  FOOT  UP  THE  GREAT  RIVER  MISSOURI, 
ACROSS  THE  STONY  MOUNTAINS  AND  ON  TO  THE  PACIFIC,  WHEN 
IN  THE  YEARS  1804,  l80S,  l8o6,  YOUNG  CAPTAIN  LEWIS  THE 
LONG  KNIFE  AND  HIS  FRIEND  CAPTAIN  CLARK  THE  RED  HEAD 
CHIEF,  AIDED  BY  SACAJAWEA  THE  BIRD-WOMAN,  CONDUCTED 
THEIR  LITTLE  BAND  OF  MEN  TRIED  AND  TRUE  THROUGH  THE 
UNKNOWN  NEW  UNITED  STATES 


BY 

EDWIN  L.  SABIN 

AUTHOR  OF  "THE  GOLD  SEEKERS  OF  '49,' 
"WITH  SAM  HOUSTOM  IN  TEXAS,"  ETC. 


FRONTISPIECE  BY 
CHARLES  H.  STEPHENS 


PHILADELPHIA  tf  LONDON 

J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT,   1917.  BY  J.  B.  LIFFINCOTT  COMPAMT 


TWELFTH    IMPRESSION 


PRINTED  IN  UNITED  STATES    OFAMERICA 


TO  THE 
WESTERN  RED  MAN 

WHO  FIRST  OWNED  FROM  THE  RIVER  TO  THE  SEA, 
BUT  WHOM  THE  WHITE  MEN  THAT  CAME  AFTER  LEWIS 
AKD  CLARK  TREATED  NEITHER  WISELY  NOR  WELL 


JB25172 


"Our  Country's  glory  is  our  chief  concern; 
For  this  we  struggle,  and  for  this  we  burn; 
For  this  we  smile,  for  this  alone  we  sigh; 
For  this  we  live,  for  this  we  freely  die.** 


FOREWORD 


As  time  passes,  the  famous  Lewis  and  Clark  Ex- 
pedition, fathered  by  the  great  President  Jefferson, 
should  shine  brighter  and  brighter  amidst  the  other 
pages  of  American  history. 

The  purchase  of  the  Province  of  Louisiana  was 
opposed  by  many  citizens.  They  were  ignorant  and 
short-sighted;  they  asserted  that  here  was  a  useless 
burden  of  waste  land  fitted  only  to  the  Indian  and 
the  fur-trader;  that  the  people  of  the  United  States 
should  occupy  themselves  with  the  land  east  of  the 
Mississippi. 

But  wiser  men  prevailed.  The  expedition  launched 
boldly  out  into  the  unknown,  to  carry  the  flag  now  into 
the  new  country,  and  perhaps  to  make  possible  the 
ownership  of  still  a  farther  country,  at  the  Pacific 
Ocean. 

Time  proved  the  wisdom  of  President  Jefferson's 
preparations  made  even  before  the  territory  had  been 
bought.  Just  at  the  right  moment  the  trail  across  the 
continent  was  opened.  Louisiana  Territory  was  valued 
at  its  future  worth;  the  people  were  informed  of  its 
merits  and  possibilities;  after  the  return  of  the  ex- 
plorers, the  American  citizens  pressed  forward,  to  see 
for  themselves.  And  in  due  course  the  flag  floated 

5 


FOREWORD 

unchallenged  in  that  Oregon  where,  also,  the  Lewis 
and  Clark  men  had  blazed  the  way. 

I  should  like  to  have  been  under  Captain  Meriwether 
Lewis,  turning  thirty,  and  Captain  William  Clark,  scant 
thirty-four.  They  were  true  leaders:  brave,  patient, 
resourceful  and  determined.  And  the  company  that 
followed  them  were  likewise,  brave,  patient,  resource- 
ful and  determined.  These  qualities  are  what  bound 
them  all  together — the  American,  the  Frenchman,  the 
Indian — as  one  united  band,  and  brought  them  through, 
triumphant. 

EDWIN  L.  SABIN 

DENVER,  COLORADO 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

THE  EXPEDITION  AND  THE  COUNTRY   n 

THE    RANK    AND    FILE 13 

I.  MAKING  READY    19 

II.  THE   START    29 

I.  THE  COMING  OF  THE  WHITE  CHIEFS  41 

II.  PETER   GOES  ABOARD    55 

III.  PETER  MEETS  THE  CHIEFS   65 

IV.  To  THE  LAND  OF  THE  Sioux  79 

V.  BAD   HEARTS    92 

VI.  THE  CAPTAINS  SHOW  THEIR  SPUNK   102 

VII.  SNUG  IN  WINTER  QUARTERS   112 

VIII.  EXCITEMENT  AT  FORT  MANDAN    121 

IX.  PETER  WINS   His   SPURS    135 

X.  THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE  "  WHITE  BEARS  "  148 

XL  WHICH  WAY  TO  THE  COLUMBIA  ?  160 

XII.  SEEKING  THE  BIRD-WOMAN'S   PEOPLE   170 

XIII.  HORSES   AT   LAST    185 

XIV.  ACROSS   STARVATION  MOUNTAINS    194 

XV.  HOORAY  FOR  THE  PACIFIC  !    206 

XVI.  THE  WINTER  AT  FORT  CLATSOP  217 

XVII.  FRIENDLY  YELLEPT,  THE  WALLA  WALLA  227 

XVIII.  THE  PIERCED  NOSES  AGAIN   236 

XIX.  BACK  ACROSS  THE  MOUNTAINS  244 

XX.  CAPTAIN   LEWIS    MEETS   THE  ENEMY    254 

XXL  THE  HOME   STRETCH    263 


THE  EXPEDITION 


The  Purpoae To  get  information  upon  the 

unexplored  country  extend- 
ing from  the  interior  of 
present  Missouri  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  River 
in  present  Washington. 

The  Start At  St.  Louis,  Monday,  May 

14,  1804. 

The  Finish At  St.  Louis,  Tuesday,  Sep- 
tember 23,  1806. 

Time  Consumed Two  years,  four  months,  and 

nine  days. 

Distance  Travelled  To  the  mouth  of  the  Co- 
lumbia: 4134  miles.  Back  to 
St.  Louis:  3555  miles. 
Counting  side  trips:  8000 
miles,  total. 

Methods  Employed Boats,  horses  and  afoot 

The  Route Up  the  Missouri  River  to  its 

sources  in  present  Montana ; 
across  the  Bitter  Root  Moun- 
tains into  present  Idaho;  by 
way  of  the  Clear  water  River, 
the  Snake  River  and  the 
Columbia  River  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean. 

The  Party  Out  of  St.  Louis Forty-five. 

The  Party  Who  Went  Through. .  .Thirty-three:  the  two  cap- 
tains, twenty- three  Ameri- 
can soldiers,  five  French- 
Canadian  and  French-Indian 
boatmen  and  interpreters, 
one  negro  servant,  one  In- 
dian woman  guide,  and  one 
baby. 

Deaths One. 

Seriously  Injured One. 

11 


THE  EXPEDITION 

Desertions One  accomplished,  one  at- 
tempted; both  early.  None 
from  the  final  party. 

THE  COUNTRY  EXPLORED 

The  New  Territory  of  Louisiana.  .Stretched  from  the  Missis- 
sippi River  to  the  summit  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains. 
Owned  first  by  France.  By 
France  ceded  to  Spain,  1762. 
By  Spain  secretly  ceded  back 
to  France,  1800.  In  April, 
1803,  purchased  from  France 
by  the  United  States  for 
$15,000,000. 

The  Columbia  Country  The  Northwest  lying  be- 
tween California  and  Can- 
ada, and  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains and  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
In  1792  visited  by  Captain 
Robert  Gray  of  the  American 
ship  Columbia  from  Boston, 
who  entered  and  named  the 
Columbia.  The  same  year 
visited  by  Captain  George 
Vancouver,  an  English  navi- 
gator. Claimed  by  both  the 
United  States  and  England. 
Awarded  to  the  United 
States  by  treaty  of  1846. 


THE  RANK  AND  FILE 


Captain  Meriwether  Lewis 
(The  Long  Knife) 

Born  August  18,  1774,  of 
Scotch  ancestry,  on  the  Ivy 
Creek  plantation  near  Charlot- 
tesville,  Albemarle  Co.,  Vir- 
ginia, and  three  miles  from 
Monticello,  the  estate  of 
Thomas  Jefferson. 

Father— William  Lewis. 

Mother — Lucy  Meriwether. 

Having  fought  bravely 
through  the  Revolution,  after 
the  successful  siege  of  York- 
town  ending  the  war,  his  father 
dies,  in  1782. 

In  due  time  his  mother  mar- 
ries a  friend  of  the  family, 
Captain  John  Marks,  and  re- 
moves to  Georgia. 

Little  Meriwether  is  reared, 
with  his  brother  Reuben  and 
his  sister  Jane,  younger  than  he, 
at  Locust  Hill,  the  family 
home,  and  also  spends  much 
time  at  "The  Farm,"  of  his 
uncle  Nicholas  Lewis,  adjoining 
Monticello. 

A  lad  of  bold  spirit,  at  eight 
years  of  age  he  is  accustomed 
to  sally  forth  alone  with  his 
dogs,  at  night,  and  hunt. 

At   thirteen,    is   placed   in   a 


Captain  William  Clark 
(The  Red  Head) 

Born  August  I,  1770,  in  Caro- 
line Co.,  tide-water  Virginia. 

Father— John  Clark,  of  old 
Virginia  Cavalier  stock. 

Mother — Ann  Rogers,  de- 
scendant of  John  Rogers,  the 
"  Martyr  of  Smithfield  "  burned 
at  the  stake  in  1555,  in  England, 
for  his  religious  beliefs. 

William  is  the  ninth  of  ten 
children,  two  others  of  whom 
have  red  hair.  Five  of  his 
brothers  enlist  in  the  Revolu- 
tion. One  of  these  was  the 
famous  General  George  Rogers 
Clark,  the  "Hannibal  of  the 
West,"  who  saved  Kentucky 
and  the  Ohio  country  from  the 
British  and  Indians. 

The  Clarks  and  the  Lewises 
are  well  acquainted.  George 
Rogers  Clark  was  born  at  Char- 
lottesville,  and  members  of  the 
Clark  family  frequently  ride 
over  there. 

Little  William  early  shows  a 
love  for  frontier  life. 

After  the  close  of  the  Revo- 
lution the  Clarks  remove,  by 
horse  and  wagon,  from  Caro- 
line Co.,  Virginia,  to  Western 


13 


THE  RANK  AND  FILE 


Latin  school,  under  Parson 
Maury,  to  study. 

At  eighteen,  in  1792,  he  vol- 
unteers to  Thomas  Jefferson, 
then  President  Washington's 
Secr«Ury  of  State,  to  explore 
up  the  Missouri  River  to  the 
Pacific  Coast  for  the  American 
Philosophical  Society.  A  dis- 
tinguished scientist,  Andre 
Michaux,  is  selected,  but  the 
plan  is  given  up. 

At  twenty,  volunteers  in  the 
militia,  at  the  call  of  President 
Washington  for  troops  to  put 
down  the  Whiskey  Rebellion  in 
Western  Pennsylvania.  Is  soon 
commissioned  a  lieutenant  in 
the  regular  army. 

At  twenty-three,  commis- 
sioned captain. 

At  twenty-seven,  in  1801,  is 
appointed  by  President  Jeffer- 
son his  private  secretary. 

At  twenty-nine,  in  1803,  is 
appointed  by  the  president  to 
head  the  government  exploring 
expedition  up  the  Missouri 
River  and  on  across  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean. 

Leaves  Washington  July  5, 
1803. 

1804-1805-1806  is  engaged  in 
the  exploration.  The  Indians 
name  him  the  Long  Knife. 

1807,  appointed  governor  of 
LouisianaTerritory,  with  head- 
quarters in  St.  Louis. 

October  10,  1809,  on  his  way 
by  horse  from  St.  Louis  to 
Washington,  while  at  a  set- 
tler's cabin  in  present  Lewis 
Co.,  Tennessee,  72  miles  south- 
west of  Nashville,  he  is  shot, 


Kentucky,  and  establish  them- 
selves in  a  stockade  and  block- 
house overlooking  the  Ohio 
River,  three  miles  below  Louis- 
ville, then  known  as  the  Falls 
of  the  Ohio;  Mulberry  Hill, 
tho  new  home  is  christened. 

Young  William  wears  buck- 
skins and  moccasins,  shoots 
deer  and  buffalo,  takes  many 
trips  with  the  famous  Kentucky 
frontiersmen,  and  has  for 
friend  and  teacher  Daniel 
Boone. 

In  1788,  at  seventeen  years  of 
age,  he  is  commissioned  ensign 
in  the  regular  army. 

Accompanies  his  brother, 
General  George  Rogers  Clark, 
on  the  campaign  to  prevent  the 
Indians  from  keeping  the 
whites  east  of  the  Ohio  River, 
and  the  Spaniards  from  closing 
the  Mississippi  to  American 
commerce. 

1790,  acts  as  captain  of 
militia. 

In  1791  is  commissioned  first 
lieutenant,  Fourth  Sub-Legion 
of  the  army.  Serves  under 
"  Mad  Anthony "  Wayne 
against  the  Indians  in  Ohio. 
Leads  a  charge  at  the  battle  of 
Fallen  Timbers,  August  20, 
1794,  where  the  celebrated 
chief  Tecumseh  is  defeated. 

Because  of  ill  health,  he  re- 
tires from  military  service,  in 
1706,  and  lives  at  Mulberry 
Hill,  to  help  his  brother,  the 
general,  in  business  matters. 

In  July,  1803,  accepts  an  offer 
from  his  friend  and  fellow  offi- 
cer, Captain  Meriwether  Lewis, 


14 


THE  RANK  AND  FILE 


either  by  himself  or  by  an  as- 
sassin, and  dies  the  next  day, 
October  n.  He  is  there  buried. 
A  monument  has  been  erected 
over  his  grave. 


requesting  his  company  and 
assistance  on  an  exploring  trip 
up  the  Missouri  River,  through 
the  Province  of  Louisiana,  for 
the  Government. 

Is  commissioned  by  Presi- 
dent Jefferson  second  lieuten- 
ant of  artillerists. 

In  October,  1803,  he  leaves 
with  part  of  the  expedition  for 
St.  Louis. 

1804-1805-1806  is  engaged  in 
exploring  to  the  Pacific  Ocean 
and  back.  The  Indians  name 
him  the  Red  Head. 

1806,  resigns  his  commission 
in  the  army. 

1807,  appointed  by  President 
Jefferson    brigadier-general   of 
the  militia  of  Louisiana  Terri- 
tory and  Indian  agent  for  the 
Territory.       Is     very    popular 
with  the  Indians,  who  revere 
his  justness  and  honesty. 

In  1808  marries  Julia  Han- 
cock. 

In  1813  is  appointed  governor 
of  the  Territory  of  Missouri. 

In  1821  marries  Harriet 
Kennerly-Radford,  but  is  de- 
feated in  his  candidacy  for  the 
governorship  of  the  new  State 
of  Missouri. 

1822,  appointed  by  President 
Madison  superintendent  of  In- 
dian Affairs,  an  office  which  he 
holds  until  he  dies. 

1824  is  appointed  surveyor- 
general  of  Missouri,  Illinois, 
and  Arkansas  Territory. 

Dies  September  i,  1838,  at 
St.  Louis,  his  long-time  home, 
aged  68  years. 


THE  RANK  AND  FILE 


The 

Nine 

Young 

Men 

From 

Kentucky 


ENLISTED  FOR  THE  TRIP. 

At  Pittsburg,  by  Captain  Lewis: 

John  Collins  of  Maryland.     Went  through. 
Soldiers         George   Gibson   of   Mercer   Co.,    Pennsylvania, 
from  Went  through. 

Carlisle      '    Hugh  McNeal  of  Pennsylvania.    Went  through. 
Barracks        John  Potts  of  Pennsylvania.    Went  through. 
Peter  Wiser  of  Pennsylvania.    Went  through. 

And 

George  Shannon,  aged  seventeen,  born  in  Penn 
sylvania,  reared  in  St.  Clair  Co.,  Ohio.  Went 
through. 
At  Mulberry  Hill,  Kentucky,  by  Captain  Clark: 

"  Charles  Floyd  of  Kentucky.     Was  elected  ser- 
geant.   Died  August  20,  1804,  while  on  the 
trip. 
Nathaniel    Pryor   of    Kentucky.     Was    elected 

sergeant.     Went  through. 

Joseph  Whitehouse  of  Kentucky.    Went  through. 
John  Colter  of  Kentucky.    Went  through. 
William  Bratton  of  Virginia.    Went  through. 
John  Shields  of  Kentucky.    Went  through. 

Reuben  Fields  1   brothers  from  Kentucky.    Went 
Joseph  Fields   f  through. 

William  Werner  of  Kentucky.     Went  through. 

And 
York,    Virginia    negro,    the    captain's    servant. 

Went  through. 
At  Kaskaskia  Post,  Illinois,  by  Captain  Lewis : 

Patrick  Gass,   of   Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania. 

Was  elected  sergeant.     Went  through. 
John  Ordway  of  New  Hampshire.    Was  elected 
Soldiers     \  sergeant.     Went  through. 

Robert  Frazier  of  Vermont.    Went  through. 
Thomas   P.  Howard  of  Massachusetts.     Went 

through. 
At  Fort  Massac  of  Illinois,  by  Captain  Gark: 

Silas  Goodrich  of  Massachusetts.    Went  through. 
Hugh  Hall  of  Massachusetts.    Went  through. 
Soldiers     \   Alexander    H.    Willard    of    New    Hampshire 

Went  through. 
Richard  Windsor.     Went  through. 

And 

John  B.  Thompson,  civilian  surveyor  from  Vin- 
cennes,  Indiana.    Went  through. 

16 


THE  RANK  AND  FILE 

Probably  at  St.  Louis: 

John  Newman.    Did  not  go  through.    Was  punished  and  sent 

back. 
Others  enrolled  in  the  party: 

Chief   Hunter   George   Drouillard    (called   "Drewyer")    of 

Kaskaskia  and   St.   Louis.     Part   French,  part   Indian. 

Went  through. 

Head  Boatman  Pierre  Cruzatte  of  St.  Louis.  Went  through. 
Boatman  Francois  Labiche  of  St.  Louis.    Went  through. 

Boatman Liberte  of  St.  Louis.    Deserted. 

Trader  Baptiste  Lepage  of  the  Mandan  Indian  town.     En- 
listed there  to  take  the  place  of  the  deserter  Liberte. 

Went  through. 
Trader  Toussaint  Chaboneau  of  the  Mandan  Indian  town, 

where  he  was  living  with  the  Minnetarees.    Enlisted  as 

interpreter.     Went  through. 
Sa-ca-ja-we-a  the  Bird-woman,  his  Sho-sho-ne  Indian  wife, 

aged  sixteen.  Went  through. 
Little  Toussaint,  their  baby.    Went  through. 

ENGAGED  FOR  PART  OF  THE  TRIP 
At  St.  Louis : 

Corporal  Warfington  and  six  privates,  to  go  as  far  as  the 

first  winter's   camp. 

Nine  French  boatmen,  to  go  as  far  as  the  first  winter's  camp. 
On  the  way  up  from  St.  Louis : 

Trader  Pierre  Dorion,  to  go  as  far  as  the  Sioux. 


I 

MAKING  READY 

WHEN  in  1801  Thomas  Jefferson  became  third 
President  of  the  United  States  the  nation  was  young. 
The  War  for  Independence  had  been  won  only  twenty 
years  previous.  George  Washington  himself  had  been 
gone  but  a  year  and  four  months.  The  Capitol  was 
being  erected  on  the  site  that  he  had  chosen.  And  the 
western  boundary  of  the  nation  was  the  Mississippi 
River. 

Beyond  the  Mississippi  extended  onward  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains  the  foreign  territory  of  Louisiana 
Province.  New  Orleans  was  the  capital  of  its  lower 
portion,  St.  Louis  was  the  capital  of  its  upper  portion. 
It  all  was  assumed  to  be  the  property  of  Spain,  until, 
before  President  Jefferson  had  held  office  a  year,  there 
spread  the  rumor  that  by  a  secret  treaty  in  1800  Spain 
had  ceded  Louisiana  back  to  France,  the  first  owner. 

Almost  another  year  passed.  The  treaty  trans- 
ferring Louisiana  Province  from  Spain  to  France 
seemed  to  be  hanging  fire.  The  Spanish  flag  still 
floated  over  New  Orleans  and  St.  Louis.  Then,  in 
October,  1802,  the  Spanish  governor  at  New  Orleans 
informed  the  American  traders  and  merchants  that 
their  flat-boats  no  longer  might  use  the  Mississippi 
River.  New  Orleans,  the  port  through  which  the 

19 


•OPENING  ;T#E  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 


/M;isis!s$ipp-i  ( River,  tiaffic  reached  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
was  closed  to  them. 

From  the  west*  to  the  east  of  the  United  States 
swelled  a  vigorous  cry  of  indignation  against  this  decree 
that  closed  the  Mississippi  to  American  commerce.  Hot 
words  issued,  threats  were  loudly  spoken,  and  the 
people  of  the  Ohio  Valley,  particularly,  were  ripe  to 
seize  New  Orleans  and  re-open  the  big  river  by  force 
of  arms. 

However,  the  Spanish  governor  was  not  within  his 
rights,  anyway.  By  that  secret  treaty,  the  Island  of 
New  Orleans  (as  it  was  called),  through  which  the 
currents  of  the  Mississippi  flowed  to  the  Gulf,  was 
French  property.  So  instead  of  disputing  further 
with  Spain,  President  Jefferson,  in  January,  1803,  sent  , 
Robert  R.  Livingston,  United  States  minister  to  France, 
the  authority  to  buy  the  New  Orleans  gateway  for 
$2,000,000,  or,  if  necessitated,  to  offer  $10,000,000. 

President  Jefferson  was  a  gaunt,  thin-legged,  sandy- 
haired,  homely  man,  careless  of  his  clothes  and  simple 
in  his  customs,  but  he  passionately  loved  his  country, 
and  he  had  great  dreams  for  it.  His  dreams  he  made 
come  true. 

He  long  had  been  fascinated  by  the  western  half 
of  the  continent.  His  keen  hazel  eyes  had  pored  over 
the  rude  maps,  largely  guesswork,  sketched  by  ad- 
venturers and  fur-hunters.  These  eyes  had  travelled 
up  the  water-way  of  the  uncertain  Missouri,  to  the 
Stony  Mountains,  as  they  were  called;  thence  across 

20 


MAKING  READY 

the  Stony  Mountains,  in  search  of  that  mysterious 
Columbia  River,  discovered  and  christened  by  an 
American.  Twice  he  had  urged  the  exploration  of 
the  Columbia  region,  and  twice  explorers  had  started, 
but  had  been  turned  back.  Now,  as  President,  he 
clung  to  his  dream  of  gaining  new  lands  and  new  com- 
merce to  the  American  flag ;  and  scarcely  had  Minister 
Livingston  been  sent  the  instructions  to  open  the  Mis- 
sissippi, than  President  Jefferson  proceeded  with  plans 
for  opening  another,  longer  trail,  that  should  reach 
from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Pacific. 

He  had  in  mind  the  person  who  could  lead  on  such 
a  trip:  young  Captain  Meriwether  Lewis  of  the  First 
Infantry,  U.  S.  A.;  his  private  secretary  at  $500  a 
year,  and  to  him  like  an  own  son.  They  were  together 
day  and  night,  they  loved  each  other. 

A  Virginian,  of  prominent  family,  was  Captain 
Lewis,  and  now  barely  twenty-nine  years  of  age.  Slim, 
erect,  sunny-haired,  flashing  blue-eyed,  handsome  and 
brave,  he  had  volunteered  before  to  explore  through 
the  farthest  Northwest,  but  had  been  needed  else- 
where. This  time  President  Jefferson  wisely  granted 
him  his  wish,  and  asked  him  to  make  an  estimate  of 
the  expenses  for  a  Government  exploring  expedition 
by  officers  and  men,  from  St.  Louis  up  the  Missouri 
River  and  across  the  mountains  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

Young  Captain  Lewis  figured,  and  soon  handed  in 
his  estimate.  He  was  of  the  opinion  that  at  an  ex- 
pense of  $2500,  which  would  cover  everything,  a  party 

21 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

of  eighteen  men  might  travel  across-country  from  the 
Mississippi  River,  over  the  mountains,  and  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean  and  back  again!  He  had  figured  very 
closely,  had  young  Captain  Lewis — perhaps  because 
he  was  so  anxious  to  go. 

President  Jefferson  accepted  the  estimate  of  $2500, 
and  in  his  message  of  January  18,  1803,  to  Congress, 
he  proposed  the  expedition.  He  urged  that  at  this 
small  expense  a  party  of  soldiers,  well  led,  could  in 
two  summers  map  a  trail  clear  to  the  western  ocean; 
bring  back  valuable  information  upon  climate,  soil  and 
peoples,  and  make  Americans  better  acquainted  with 
their  own  continent;  also  encourage  the  traders  and 
trappers  to  use  the  Missouri  River  as  a  highway  to 
and  from  the  Indians,  thus  competing  with  the  British 
of  *  Canada. 

Congress  voted  to  apply  the  $2500  on  the  proposed 
expedition.  We  may  imagine  how  the  tall,  homely 
President  Jefferson  beamed — he,  who  so  firmly  be- 
lieved in  the  expansion  of  American  trade,  and  the 
onward  march  of  the  American  flag.  And  we  may 
imagine  how  young  Captain  Lewis  glowed  with  joy, 
when  now  he  might  be  definitely  named  as  the  leader 
to  carry  the  flag. 

President  Jefferson  advised  him  to  go  at  once  to 
Philadelphia,  and  study  botany,  geology,  astronomy, 
surveying,  and  all  the  other  sciences  and  methods  that 
would  enable  him  to  make  a  complete  report  upon  the 
new  country.  At  Lancaster,  nearby,  the  celebrated 


MAKING  BJEADY 

Henry  flint-lock  rifles  were  manufactured,  and  he 
could  attend  to  equipping  his  party  with  these  high- 
grade  guns,  turned  out  according  to  his  own  directions. 

There  should  be  two  leaders,  to  provide  against 
accident  to  one.  Whom  would  he  have,  as  comrade? 
He  asked  for  his  friend,  William  Clark,  younger 
brother  to  the  famed  General  George  Rogers  Clark, 
who  in  the  Revolution  had  won  the  country  west  of 
the  Alleghanies  from  the  British  and  the  Indians,  after- 
ward had  saved  the  Ohio  Valley  from  the  angry  red- 
men,  and  then  had  defied  the  Spaniards  who  would 
claim  the  Mississippi. 

As  cadet  only  seventeen  years  old,  and  as  stripling 
lieutenant  appointed  by  Washington,  William  Clark 
himself  had  fought  to  keep  this  fertile  region  white. 
"A  youth  of  solid  and  promising  parts  and  as  brave 
as  Caesar,"  was  said  of  him,  in  those  terrible  days  when 
the  Shawnees,  the  Mohawks  and  all  declared :  "  No 
white  man's  cabin  shall  smoke  beyond  the  Ohio." 

He,  too,  was  a  Virginian  born,  but  raised  in  Ken- 
tucky. Now  in  this  spring  of  1803  he  was  verging  on 
thirty-three  years  of  age.  He  was  russet-haired,  gray- 
eyed,  round-faced  and  large- framed — kindly,  firm,  and 
very  honest. 

He  had  retired  from  the  army,  but  by  rank  in  the 
militia  was  entitled  captain.  For  the  purposes  of  the 
expedition  President  Jefferson  commissioned  him 
second  lieutenant  of  artillery. 

Captain  Clark  was  at  the  Clark  family  home  of 
23 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

Mulberry  Hill,  three  miles  south  of  Louisville,  Ken- 
tucky; Captain  Lewis  pursued  his  studies  at  Philadel- 
phia. Meanwhile,  what  of  Minister  Livingston  and  the 
purchase  from  France  of  New  Orleans — the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi? 

The  famous  Napoleon  Bonaparte  was  the  ruler  of 
France.  He,  like  President  Jefferson,  had  his  dreams 
for  the  Province  of  Louisiana.  He  refused  to  sell  the 
port  of  New  Orleans.  Here  he  intended  to  land  sol- 
diers and  colonists,  that  they  might  proceed  up-river 
and  make  of  his  Province  of  Louisiana  another  France. 

Trouble  loomed.  Congress  appointed  James  Mon- 
roe as  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  on  March  8  he  started 
for  France  to  aid  Minister  Livingston.  He  arrived  at 
Paris  on  April  12;  but,  lo,  on  the  day  before  he 
arrived,  a  most  astonishing  new  bargain  had  been 
offered  by  Napoleon  and  Minister  Livingston  was 
ready  to  accept. 

The  dream  of  Napoleon  had  faded.  For  war  with 
England  was  again  upon  him ;  the  British  held  Canada, 
their  men-of-war  were  assembling  off  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  Louisiana  Province  and  New  Orleans  would 
be  seized  before  ever  France  could  muster  a  force 
there  to  resist.  So  rather  than  let  England  gain  all 
this  territory  and  wax  more  powerful,  Napoleon,  on 
April  n,  directed  his  ministers  to  proffer  to  the  United 
States  not  only  New  Orleans,  but  all  Louisiana  Prov- 
ince— and  the  deal  must  be  closed  at  once ! 

"  Take  all,  at  80,000,000  francs,  or  $15,000,000,  or 

24 


MAKING  READY 

take  nothing,"  was  the  astounding  proposal  from 
Minister  Marbois. 

"  I  am  authorized  to  buy  New  Orleans,"  replied 
Minister  Livingston. 

There  was  no  time  in  which  to  inform  President 
Jefferson  and  Congress.  News  crossed  the  ocean  only 
by  slow  sailing  vessels.  Envoy  Monroe  arrived;  he 
and  Minister  Livingston  consulted  together;  Napoleon 
was  impatient,  they  should  act  quickly 

"  We  must  do  it,"  they  agreed.  "  Our  country 
shall  not  lose  this  opportunity." 

Little  minds  are  afraid  of  responsibilities;  great 
minds  are  not  afraid.  They  prefer  to  act  as  seems  to 
them  they  ought  to  act,  rather  than  merely  to  play 
safe.  Monroe  and  Livingston  were  true  patriots.  They 
thought  not  of  themselves,  but  of  their  country,  and 
risked  rebuke  for  exceeding  their  instructions. 

On  April  30  they  signed  the  papers  which  engaged 
the  United  States  to  purchase  all  of  Louisiana.  The 
French  ministers  signed.  On  May  2  Napoleon  signed. 
The  papers  were  immediately  mailed  for  the  approval 
of  Congress. 

And  Congress  did  approve,  on  October  17.  Thus, 
for  less  than  three  cents  an  acre,  the  United  States 
acquired  from  the  Mississippi  River  to  the  summits  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  amount  paid  over  was 
$11,400,000;  $3,750,000  was  applied  on  French  debts. 

The  ship  bearing  the  papers  signed  by  Ministers 
Livingston  and  Monroe,  and  by  the  government  of 

25 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

France,  did  not  reach  the  United  States  until  July. 
Down  to  that  time  President  Jefferson  had  no  knowl- 
edge of  the  fact  that  his  expedition,  as  planned,  was 
to  explore  not  French  territory,  but  American.  But 
when  the  news  broke,  he  was  all  ready  for  it — he  needed 
only  to  go  ahead.  That  is  one  secret  of  success :  to  be 
prepared  to  step  instantly  from  opportunity  to  oppor- 
tunity as  fast  as  they  occur.  The  successful,  energetic 
man  is  never  surprised  by  the  unexpected. 

Captain  Lewis  had  been  kept  very  busy:  studying 
science  at  Philadelphia,  inspecting  his  flint-locks  at 
Lancaster,  storing  them  and  gathering  supplies  at  the 
arsenal  of  Harper's  Ferry.  June  20  he  received  his 
written  instructions. 

He  was  to  ascend  the  Missouri  River  from  St. 
Louis  to  its  source,  and  by  crossing  the  mountains  and 
following  down  other  streams,  endeavor  to  come  out 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  on  the  Pacific  coast.  It 
was  hoped  that  he  would  find  a  way  by  water  clear 
through.  He  was  to  make  a  complete  record  of  his 
journey:  noting  the  character  of  the  country,  its  rivers, 
climate,  soil,  animals,  products,  and  peoples;  and  par- 
ticularly the  Indians,  their  laws,  languages,  occupa- 
tions— was  to  urge  peace  upon  them,  inform  them  of 
the  greatness  of  the  white  United  States,  encourage 
them  to  sell  us  their  goods  and  to  visit  us. 

When  he  reached  the  Pacific  Ocean,  he  was  to  ship 
two  of  his  party  by  vessel,  if  he  found  one  there,  for 
the  United  States,  by  way  of  Cape  Horn,  of  South 

26 


MAKING  READY 

America,  or  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  of  Africa,  and 
send  a  copy  of  his  notes  with  them.  Or  he  and  all  his 
party  were  at  liberty  to  return  that  way,  themselves. 
He  was  given  letters  to  the  United  States  consuls  at 
Java,  and  the  Isles  of  France  off  the  African  coast, 
and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  one  authorizing  him 
to  obtain  money,  in  the  name  of  the  United  States,  at 
any  part  of  the  civilized  world. 

All  this  was  a  large  order,  placed  upon  the  shoulders 
of  a  youth  of  twenty-nine  years;  but  who  knew  where 
the  Missouri  River  trail  might  lead?  No  white  man 
yet  had  followed  it  to  its  end. 

Captain  Lewis  was  at  Washington,  receiving  those 
final  instructions.  On  July  5  he  should  start  for  the 
west.  On  July  3  he  wrote  a  farewell  letter  to  his 
mother  in  Virginia,  bidding  her  not  to  worry,  and  assur- 
ing her  that  he  felt  he  should  return  safely  in  fifteen 
to  eighteen  months. 

He  did  not  dream — President  Jefferson,  his  friend 
and  backer,  did  not  dream,  or,  at  least,  had  not  voiced 
that  dream — but  even  while  the  loving  letter  was  being 
penned,  into  the  harbor  of  New  York  had  sailed  a  ship 
from  France,  bringing  the  dispatches  of  Ministers 
Monroe  and  Livingston.  The  next  day  the  news  was 
announced  at  Washington.  The  Province  of  Louisiana 
had  been  bought  by  the  United  States ! 

This  was  a  Fourth  of  July  celebration  with  a 
vengeance. 

Captain  Lewis  scarcely  had  time  to  comprehend. 

27 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

Tomorrow  he  was  to  start,  and  his  mind  was  filled 
with  the  details  of  preparation.  But  a  glowing  joy 
must  have  thrilled  him  as  he  realized  that  he  was  to 
be  the  first  to  carry  the  flag  through  that  new  America 
now  a  part  of  his  own  United  States.  Hurrah! 

He  had  no  occasion  for  delaying.  His  instructions 
required  no  change.  He  was  eager  to  be  off.  There- 
fore on  July  5,  this  1803,  he  set  out,  and  from  the 
White  House  President  Jefferson  wished  him  good- 
speed. 


II 

THE  START 

BY  boat  up  the  Potomac  River  from  Washington 
hastened  young  Captain  Lewis,  to  pack  his  arms  and 
supplies  at  Harper's  Ferry,  and  forward  them  by  wagon 
for  Pittsburg.  He  got  to  Pittsburg  ahead  of  them; 
and  there  remained  until  the  last  of  August,  overseeing 
the  building  of  a  barge  or  flat-boat.  He  enlisted  some 
men,  too — six  of  them,  picked  with  care,  and  sworn 
into  the  service  of  the  United  States  Army. 

On  August  31,  with  his  recruits,  on  his  laden  flat- 
boat  he  launched  out  to  sail,  row,  and  float,  towed  by 
oxen  (a  "horn  breeze,"  this  was  termed),  down  the 
Ohio. 

At  Mulberry  Hill,  near  Louisville,  Captain  William 
Clark  was  impatiently  awaiting.  He  had  enlisted  nine 
men,  all  of  Kentucky,  the  "  dark  and  bloody  ground." 
If  any  men  could  be  relied  on,  they  would  be  Ken- 
tuckians,  he  knew.  His  negro  servant,  York,  who  had 
been  his  faithful  body-guard  since  boyhood,  was  going, 
too. 

Captain  Clark  took  charge  of  the  barge,  to  proceed 
with  it  and  the  recruits  and  York  down  the  Ohio  into 
the  Mississippi,  and  thence  up  the  Mississippi  to  St. 
Louis.  Captain  Lewis  turned  across  country,  by  horse, 
on  a  Short  cut,  to  pick  up  more  men  along  the  way. 

29 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

He  struck  the  Mississippi  River  fifty  miles  below 
St.  Louis,  where  the  United  States  Army  post  of  Kas- 
kaskia  faced  the  Province  of  Louisiana  across  the  river. 
Here  he  enlisted  four  men  more,  selected  from  a  score 
that  eagerly  volunteered.  Word  of  the  great  expedition 
had  travelled  ahead  of  him,  and  he  could  have  filled 
the  ranks  seven  times  over.  But  only  the  strongest, 
and  those  of  clean  reputation,  could  qualify  for  such  a 
trip.  These  thought  themselves  fortunate. 

Now  up  along  the  river,  by  military  road,  hastened 
Captain  Lewis,  for  the  old  town  of  Cahokia,  and  crossed 
the  river  to  St.  Louis  at  last.  He  was  in  a  hurry. 

"We'll  winter  at  La  Charette,  Captain,"  he  had 
said  to  Captain  Clark,  "  where  Daniel  Boone  lives. 
Boone  can  give  us  valuable  information,  and  we'll  be 
that  far  on  our  journey,  ready  for  spring.  Charette 
will  be  better  for  our  men  than  St.  Louis." 

Glad  was  Captain  Clark  to  spend  the  months  at 
La  Charette.  Daniel  Boone  had  been  his  boyhood 
friend  in  Kentucky — had  taught  him  much  wood-craft. 
But  when,  in  mid-December,  Captain  Clark,  the  red- 
head, anxious  to  push  on  to  La  Charette,  seventy 
miles  up  the  Missouri,  before  the  ice  closed,  with  York 
and  his  nine  Kentuckians  and  five  other  recruits  whom 
he  had  enlisted  from  Fort  Massac  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Ohio  tied  his  keel-boat  at  the  St.  Louis  levee,  he 
was  met  by  disagreeable  information. 

"  We'll  have  to  winter  here,"  informed  Captain 
Lewis.  "  The  Spanish  lieutenant-governor  won't  pass 

so 


THE  START 

us  on.  He  claims  that  he  has  not  been  officially  notified 
yet  to  transfer  Upper  Louisiana  to  the  United  States — 
or,  for  that  matter,  even  to  France.  So  all  we  can  do 
is  to  make  winter  camp  on  United  States  soil,  on  the 
east  side  of  the  river,  and  wait.  I'm  sorry — I've  en- 
gaged two  more  boats — but  that's  the  case." 

"All  right,"  assented  Captain  Clark.  "  Both  sides 
of  the  river  are  ours,  but  I  suppose  we  ought  to  avoid 
trouble." 

So  the  winter  camp  was  placed  near  the  mouth  of 
Wood  River,  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  about 
twenty  miles  above  St.  Louis.  Log  cabins  were  erected ; 
and  besides,  the  big  keel-boat  was  decked  fore  and  aft, 
and  had  a  cabin  and  men's  quarters.  Consequently 
nobody  need  suffer  from  the  cold. 

Captain  Lewis  stayed  most  of  the  time  in  St.  Louis, 
arranging  for  supplies,  studying  medicine,  astronomy, 
botany  and  other  sciences,  and  learning  much  about 
the  Indians  up  the  Missouri.  Captain  Clark  looked 
after  the  camp,  and  drilled  the  men  almost  every  day. 

St.  Louis  was  then  forty  years  old;  it  contained 
less  than  200  houses,  of  stone  and  log,  and  about  1000 
people,  almost  all  French.  The  lieutenant-governor, 
who  lived  here  in  charge  of  Upper  Louisiana  of  "  the 
Illinois  Country  "  (as  all  this  section  was  called),  was 
Don  Carlos  Dehault  Delassus,  also  of  French  blood, 
but  appointed  by  Spain. 

Indignant  now  was  Spain,  objecting  to  the  new 
ownership  by  the  United  States,  and  asserting  that  by 

3  31 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

the  terms  of  the  bargain  with  France  that  government 
had  promised  not  to  dispose  of  the  province  to  any 
other  nation.  But  this  evidently  had  made  no  dif- 
ference to  Napoleon. 

Not  until  November  30,  of  1803,  while  Captain 
Lewis  was  on  his  road  from  Kaskaskia  to  St.  Louis 
and  Captain  Clark  was  toiling  with  his  keel-boat  up 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  (both  captains  thinking 
that  they  had  a  clear  way  ahead),  was  the  Spanish 
flag  in  New  Orleans  hauled  down,  and  the  French  flag 
hoisted.  On  December  20  the  representative  of  the 
French  government  there,  Monsieur  Pierre  Clement 
Laussat,  and  his  men,  saluted  the  hoisting  of  the  Stars 
and  Stripes,  formally  delivered  Lower  and  Upper 
Louisiana  to  the  United  States. 

Nevertheless,  Lieutenant-Governor  Delassus,  of 
Upper  Louisiana,  waited  for  official  instruction.  Dis- 
tances were  great,  he  wished  to  receive  orders  what 
to  do.  In  St.  Louis  Captain  Lewis  waited;  in  the 
camp  at  Wood  River  Captain  Clark  waited;  the  Mis- 
souri froze  over  and  they  could  not  go  on  anyway. 

Christmas  was  celebrated,  and  the  memorable  year 
1803  merged  into  the  new  year  1804.  Finally,  by  let- 
ter, date  of  January  12,  1804,  from  Monsieur  Laussat 
at  New  Orleans,  Lieutenant-Governor  Delassus  was 
notified  that  dispatches  were  on  the  road  to  Captain 
Amos  Stoddard,  of  the  United  States  Artillery,  and 
commanding  at  Fort  Kaskaskia,  empowering  him  to 
represent  France  at  St.  Louis  and  take  over  from 


THE  START 

Spain  the  district  of  Upper  Louisiana.  He  was  then 
to  turn  it  over  to  himself  as  representative  of  the 
United  States. 

On  February  25  Captain  Stoddard  announced  that 
he  was  ready  to  receive  Upper  Louisiana  in  the  name 
of  France.  March  9  was  set  as  the  day.  Captain  Lewis 
was  invited  to  be  present  at  the  ceremony,  as  an  official 
witness.  Captain  Clark  probably  came  over;  perhaps 
some  of  the  men,  for  all  the  countryside  gathered  at 
the  great  event. 

A  number  of  Indians  from  up  the  Mississippi  and 
up  the  Missouri,  and  out  of  the  plains  to  the  west,  had 
witnessed  the  ceremony  of  transfer.  They  did  not 
understand  it  all.  They  said  that  the  United  States 
had  captured  St.  Louis.  On  March  12  their  good 
friend,  Lieutenant-Governor  Delassus,  issued  an  ad- 
dress to  them,  explaining  that  now  they  had  a  new 
father,  and  he  introduced  to  them  the  new  United 
States  chiefs  who  had  come — Captain  Stoddard  and 
Captain  Lewis. 

But  the  Delawares,  the  Sacs,  the  Osages,  and  others 
— they  still  were  dissatisfied,  and  especially  the  Osages. 
Captain  Lewis  was  particularly  anxious  to  please  the 
Osages,  for  they  were  the  first  of  the  powerful  tribes 
whom  he  might  encounter,  up  the  Missouri.  He  tried 
to  talk  with  the  chiefs  in  St.  Louis;  by  a  trader  sent 
a  letter  on  to  the  Osage  village,  asking  the  head  chiefs 
to  meet  him  at  the  river  and  exchange  peace  presents. 

Beyond  the  Osages  dwelt  the  Otoes,  the  Missouris, 

33 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

the  'Mahas  (Omahas),  the  Sioux,  the  Arikaras,  the 
Mandans,  the  Minnetarees;  and  then,  who  could  say? 
Few  white  men,  even  the  French  traders,  had  been 
farther.  How  would  all  these  tribes,  known  and  un- 
known, receive  the  strange  Americans? 

Spring  had  come,  the  ice  was  whirling  down,  in 
rotted  floes,  out  of  the  north,  the  channel  of  the  crooked 
Missouri  was  clearing,  and  every  man  in  the  expedition 
was  keen  to  be  away,  following  the  honking  geese  into 
this  new  America  over  which  the  flag  of  the  United 
States  waved  at  last. 

Now  the  expedition  had  grown  to  full  strength. 
There  were  the  two  captains;  the  fourteen  soldiers 
enlisted  at  Pittsburg,  Fort  Massac  and  Fort  Kaskaskia ; 
the  nine  Kentuckians,  enrolled  at  Mulberry  Hill  near 
Louisville;  George  Drouillard  (or  Drewyer,  as  he  was 
called),  the  hunter  from  Kaskaskia  who  had  been 
recommended  by  Captain  Clark's  brother  the  general ; 
Labiche  and  one-eyed  old  Cruzatte,  French  voyageurs 
or  boatmen  engaged  by  Captain  Lewis  at  St.  Louis; 
nine  other  boatmen,  and  Corporal  Warfington  and  six 
privates  from  the  Kaskaskia  troops  in  St.  Louis,  who 
were  to  go  as  far  as  the  next  winter  camp,  and  then 
return  with  records  and  trophies;  and  black  York, 
Captain  Clark's  faithful  servant,  who  was  going  just 
as  far  as  his  master  did. 

So  forty-five  there  were  in  all,  to  start.  Except 
York,  those  who  were  going  through  had  been  sworn 
in  as  privates  in  the  United  States  Army,  to  serve 

84 


THE  START 

during  the  expedition,  or  until  discharged  on  the  way, 
if  so  happened.  Charles  Floyd,  one  of  the  young  Ken- 
tuckians;  Nathaniel  Pryor,  his  cousin,  and  John  Ord- 
way,  enrolled  at  Kaskaskia  from  among  the  New 
Hampshire  company,  were  appointed  sergeants. 

For  outfit  they  had  their  flint-lock  rifles,  especially 
manufactured;  flint-lock  pistols,  hunting  knives,  pow- 
der contained  in  lead  canisters  or  pails  to  be  melted 
into  bullets  when  emptied,  tents,  tools,  provisions  of 
pork,  flour,  etc.,  warm  extra  clothing  for  winter,  old 
Cruzatte's  fiddle,  George  Gibson's  fiddle,  medicines,  in- 
cluding the  new  kine-pox  with  which  to  vaccinate  the 
Indians,  the  captains'  scientific  instruments,  a  wonder- 
ful air-gun  that  shot  forty  times  without  reloading, 
and  a  cannon  or  blunderbuss. 

Seven  large  bales  and  one  emergency  box  had  been 
packed  with  their  stores ;  and  there  were  fourteen  other 
bales  and  one  sample  box  of  gifts  for  the  Indians: 
gay  laced  coats,  flags,  knives,  iron  tomahawks,  beads, 
looking-glasses,  handkerchiefs  (red  and  blue),  paints 
(yellow,  blue  and  crimson),  not  forgetting  three  kinds 
of  medals — first-class  and  second-class,  of  silver,  and 
third-class,  of  pewter — for  chiefs  to  hang  about  their 
necks  as  token  of  friendship  from  their  new  great 
white  father  at  Washington.  The  knives  and  toma- 
hawks had  been  made  at  Harper's  Ferry. 

Three  boats  were  ready:  the  keel-boat  built  at 
Pittsburg,  and  two  pirogues  bought  at  St.  Louis.  The 
keel-boat  or  batteau  was  to  be  the  flag-shi^  It  was  a 

85 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

kind  of  flat-boat  or  barge,  fifty -five  feet  long;  of  heavy 
planks,  with  bow  overhanging  and  a  little  pointed,  and 
square  overhanging  stern  fitted  with  a  keel  and  with 
a  tiller  rudder.  It  had  places  for  eleven  oars  on  a 
side,  and  carried  a  sail.  Along  either  gunwale  was  a 
plank  path  or  walking-board,  from  which  the  men 
might  push  with  poles. 

Much  ingenuity  and  care  had  Captain  Lewis  spent 
on  this  flag-ship.  Under  a  deck  at  the  bows  the  crew 
might  sleep;  and  under  the  deck  at  the  stern  was  the 
cabin  for  the  officers;  in  the  middle  were  lockers,  for 
stowing  stuff — and  the  lids  when  raised  formed  a  line 
of  breastworks  against  bullets  and  arrows !  The 
blunderbuss  was  mounted  in  the  bows,  the  flag  floated 
from  a  staff.  The  boat  drew  only  three  feet  of  water. 

The  two  pirogues  were  smaller,  open  flat-boats  or 
barges ;  one  painted  red,  the  other  white ;  one  fitted  with 
six  oars,  the  other  with  seven.  They  also  had  sails. 

At  Harper's  Ferry  Captain  Lewis  had  ordered  the 
steel  framework  of  a  canoe.  This  was  "  knocked 
down,"  in  sections,  and  stowed  in  the  keel-boat,  later 
to  be  put  together  and  covered  with  bark  or  skins,  for 
use  in  the  shallow  waters  far  up-river. 

And  there  were  two  horses,  which  should  accom- 
pany the  boats  by  land,  for  scouting  and  hunting 
purposes. 

April  passed ;  May  arrived.  The  Missouri  was  re- 
ported free  of  ice,  and  was  rising  rapidly.  The  trees 
had  budded  and  greened,  the  grasses  were  getting  high, 

36 


THE  START 

game  would  be  plentiful,  the  Indians  would  be  leaving 
their  villages  for  their  spring  hunts,  and  'twas  time 
that  the  expedition  should  start.  In  their  camp  at 
Wood  River  the  men  drew  on  the  supply  of  quill  pens, 
ink  horns  and  paper  and  wrote  farewell  letters  home. 
In  St.  Louis  Captain  Clark  and  Captain  Lewis  were 
given  farewell  dinners.  By  Doctor  Saugrain,  the 
learned  physician  and  scientist  under  whom  he  was 
studying,  Captain  Lewis  was  presented  with  a  handful 
of  matches — curious  little  sticks  which,  when  briskly 
rubbed  against  something,  burst  into  flame.  The 
Indians  would  marvel  at  these. 

Shortly  before  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of 
May  14,  this  1804,  the  start  was  made.  The  St.  Louis 
people  gathered  along  the  river  bank  on  that  side,  to 
watch  the  boats  move  up.  The  blunderbuss  was  dis- 
charged, in  salute;  the  cannon  of  the  fort  answered. 
Captain  Clark,  bidding  goodbye  from  the  deck  of  the 
keel-boat,  was  in  full  dress  uniform  of  red-trimmed 
blue  coat  and  trousers,  and  gold  epaulets,  his  sword 
at  his  belt,  his  three-cornered  chapeau  on  his  red  head. 
The  sails  swelled  in  the  breeze,  the  men  at  the  oars 
sang  in  French  and  shouted  in  English.  Drewyer 
the  hunter  rode  one  horse  and  led  the  other.  All,  save 
Captain  Clark,  were  dressed  for  business — Corporal 
Warfington's  squad  from  St.  Louis  in  United  States 
uniform,  the  nine  Kentuckians  in  buckskins,  the  four- 
teen soldiers  and  civilians,  enlisted  at  the  posts,  in 
flannel  shirts  and  trousers  of  buckskin  or  coarse  army 

37 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

cloth,  the  French  boatmen  in  brightly  fringed  woollens, 
with  scarlet  'kerchiefs  about  their  heads.  Rain  was 
falling,  but  who  cared! 

Captain  Lewis  did  not  accompany.  He  was  de- 
tained to  talk  more  with  the  Osages  who  had  come 
down.  He  hoped  yet  to  make  things  clear  to  them. 
But  he  would  join  the  boats  at  the  village  of  St.  Charles, 
twenty  miles  above. 

In  the  sunshine  of  May  16  they  tied  to  the  bank  at 
St.  Charles.  At  the  report  of  the  cannon — boom! — 
the  French  villagers,  now  Americans  all,  came  running 
down  and  gave  welcome. 

Sunday  the  2Oth  Captain  Lewis  arrived  by  skiff 
from  St.  Louis,  and  with  him  an  escort  of  the  St.  Louis 
people,  again  to  cheer  the  expedition  on  its  way.  Not 
until  Monday  afternoon,  the  2ist,  was  the  expedition 
enabled  to  tear  itself  from  the  banquets  and  hand- 
shakings, and  onward  fare  in  earnest,  against  the  wind 
and  rain. 

Tawny  ran  the  great  Missouri  River,  flooded  with 
the  melted  snows  of  the  wild  north,  bristling  with 
black  snags,  and  treacherous  with  shifting  bars.  On 
either  hand  the  banks  crashed  in,  undermined  by  the 
changing  currents.  But  rowing,  poling,  hauling  with 
ropes,  and  even  jumping  overboard  to  shove,  only 
occasionally  aided  by  favoring  breeze,  the  men,  sol- 
diers and  voyageurs  alike,  worked  hard  and  kept  going. 
On  leaving  St.  Charles  the  two  captains  doffed  their 
uniforms  until  ths  r*ext  dress-up  event,  and  donned 
buckskins  and 


THE  START 

Past  La  Charette,  the  settlement  where  Daniel 
Boone  lived — the  very  last  white  settlement  on  the 
Missouri,  toiled  the  boats;  now,  beyond,  the  country 
was  red.  Past  the  mouth  of  the  Osage  River  up  which 
lived  the  Osage  Indian;  but  no  Osages  were  there  to 
treat  with  them.  Past  the  mouth  of  the  Kansas  River, 
and  the  Little  Platte;  and  still  no  Indians  appeared, 
except  some  Kickapoos  bringing  deer.  Rafts  were 
encountered,  descending  with  the  first  of  the  traders 
bringing  down  their  winter's  furs:  a  raft  from  the 
Osages,  shouting  that  the  Osages  would  not  believe  that 
St.  Louis  had  been  "  captured/'  and  had  burnt  the 
Captain  Lewis  message;  from  the  Kansas,  from  the 
Pawnees  up  the  Big  Platte,  from  the  Sioux  of  the  far 
north. 

Off  a  Sioux  raft  old  Pierre  Dor  ion,  one  of  the- 
traders,  was  hired  by  the  captains  to  go  with  the  expedi- 
tion up  to  the  Sioux,  and  make  them  friendly.  He  had 
lived  among  the  Yankton  Sioux  twenty  years. 

Through  June  and  July,  without  especial  incident, 
the  expedition  voyaged  ever  up-river  into  the  north- 
west, constantly  on  the  look-out  for  Indians  with  whom 
to  talk. 

The  two  captains  regularly  wrote  down  what  they 
saw  and  did  and  heard;  a  number  of  the  men  also 
kept  diaries.  Sergeant  Charles  Floyd,  Sergeant  John 
Ordway,  Sergeant  Nathaniel  Pryor,  Private  Patrick 
Gass,  Private  Joseph  Whitehouse,  Private  Robert 
Frazier  and  Private  Alexander  Willard — they  faith- 

39 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

fully  scrawled  with  their  quill  pens,  recording  each 
day's  events  as  they  saw  them.  The  journals  of  Floyd, 
Gass,  and  Whitehouse  have  been  published,  so  that  we 
may  read  them  as  well  as  the  journals  of  the  captains. 

Not  until  the  first  of  August,  and  when  almost  fifty 
miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Platte  River,  was  the  first 
council  with  the  Indians  held.  Here  a  few  Otoes  and 
Missouris  came  in,  at  a  camping-place  on  the  Nebraska 
side  of  the  Missouri,  christened  by  the  two  captains 
the  Council-bluffs,  from  which  the  present  Iowa  city 
of  Council  Bluffs,  twenty  miles  below  and  opposite, 
takes  its  name. 

Now  in  the  middle  of  August  the  expedition  is  en- 
camped at  the  west  side  of  the  river,  about  fifteen 
miles  below  present  Sioux  City,  Iowa,  waiting  to  talk 
with  the  principal  chiefs  of  the  Otoes  and  the  Omahas, 
and  hoping  to  establish  a  peace  between  them.  But 
the  Omahas  had  fled  from  the  small-pox,  and  the 
Otoes  were  slow  to  come  in. 

The  voyageur  Liberte  and  the  soldier  Moses  Reed 
were  missing  from  the  camp;  a  party  had  been  sent 
out  to  capture  them  as  deserters. 

Eight  hundred  and  thirty-six  miles  had  been  logged 
off,  from  St.  Louis,  in  the  three  months. 

Here  the  story  opens. 


OPENING  THE  WEST 

WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

i 

THE  COMING  OF  THE  WHITE  CHIEFS 

"  THEY  are  many,"  reported  Shon-go-ton-go,  or 
Big  Horse,  sub-chief  of  the  Otoes. 

"  How  many  ?  "  asked  We-ah-rush-hah,  or  Little 
Thief,  the  head  chief. 

"As  many/'  replied  Big  Horse,  "  as  five  times  the 
fingers  on  two  hands." 

"  Wah !  "  gravely  grunted  the  circle,  where  the 
chiefs  and  warriors  squatted  in  their  blankets  and 
buffalo  robes. 

For  August,  the  Ripe  Corn  month,  of  1804,  had 
arrived  to  the  Oto  Indians'  country  in  present  Nebraska 
beyond  the  Missouri  River;  but  now  at  their  buffalo- 
hunt  camp  north  of  the  River  Platte  the  chiefs  of  the 
combined  Oto  and  Missouri  nations  sat  in  solemn 
council  instead  of  chasing  the  buffalo. 

Through  a  long  time,  or  since  the  month  when 
the  buffalo  begin  to  shed,  the  air  had  been  full  of 
rumors.  Five  moons  back,  when  the  cottonwood  buds 
first  swelled,  down  at  the  big  white  village  of  "  San 
Loui'  "  'there  had  been  a  ceremony  by  which,  according 
to  the  best  word,  all  this  vast  land  watered  by  the 
Missouri  River  had  changed  white  fathers.  The  Span- 

41 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

ish  father's  flag  had  been  hauled  down,  and  a  different 
flag  had  been  raised.  Indians  had  been  there  and  had 
seen;  yes,  Shawnees,  Saukies,  Delawares,  Osages— 
they  had  been  there,  and  had  seen.  The  Spanish  gov- 
ernor, whose  name  was  Delassus,  had  made  a  speech, 
to  the  white  people.  He  had  said : 

PROCLAMATION 

March  9,  1804. 
Inhabitants  of  Upper  Louisiana  : 

By  the  King's  command,  I  am  about  to  deliver  up  this  post 
and  its  dependences ! 

The  flag  under  which  you  have  been  protected  for  a  period 
of  nearly  thirty-six  years  is  to  be  withdrawn.  From  this  moment 
you  are  released  from  the  oath  of  fidelity  you  took  to  support  it. 

The  speech  was  hard  to  understand,  but  there  it 
was,  tacked  up  on  the  white  man's  talking  paper.  More- 
over, the  good  governor  had  made  a  talk  for  the  Indians 
also,  his  red  children.  He  had  said: 

Your  old  fathers,  the  Spaniard  and  the  Frenchman,  who 
grasp  by  the  hand  your  new  father,  the  head  chief  of  the  United 
States,  by  an  act  of  their  good  will,  and  in  virtue  of  their 
last  treaty,  have  delivered  up  to  them  all  these  lands.  They 
will  keep  and  defend  them,  and  protect  all  the  white  and  red 
skins  who  live  thereon. 

For  several  days  we  have  fired  off  cannon  shots  to  announce 
to  all  the  nations  that  your  father,  the  Spaniard,  is  going,  his 
heart  happy  to  know  that  you  will  be  protected  and  sustained 
by  your  new  father,  and  that  the  smoke  of  the  powder  may 
ascend  to  the  Master  of  Life,  praying  him  to  shower  on  you 
all  a  happy  destiny  and  prosperity  in  always  living  in  good  union 
with  the  whites. 

Up  the  great  river  and  into  the  west,  by  traders  and 
runners  had  come  the  tidings. 

42 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  WHITE  CHIEFS 

Who  were  these  United  States?  What  kind  of  a 
man  was  the  new  white  father?  He  was  sending  a 
party  of  his  warriors,  bearing  presents  and  peace  talk. 
They  already  had  ascended  the  big  river,  past  the 
mouth  of  the  Platte.  They  had  dispatched  messengers 
to  the  Otoes  and  the  Missouris,  asking  them  to  come 
in  to  council.  But  the  Otoes  and  Missouris  had  left 
their  village  where  they  lived  with  their  friends  the 
Pawnees,  in  order  to  hunt  the  buffalo  before  gathering 
their  corn,  and  only  by  accident  had  the  invitation 
reached  them. 

Then  Shon-go-ton-go  and  We-the-a  and  Shos-gus- 
can  and  others  had  gone;  and  had  returned  safe  and 
satisfied.  They  had  returned  laden  with  gifts — paint 
and  armlets  and  powder,  and  medals  curiously  figured, 
hung  around  their  necks  by  the  two  white  chiefs  them- 
selves. They  had  hastened  to  seek  out  We-ah-rush-hah, 
the  head  chief,  in  his  camp,  and  report. 

The  white  chiefs  were  waiting  to  treat  with  him, 
as  was  proper,  and  they  had  sent  to  him  a  bright  colored 
flag,  and  ornaments,  and  a  medal. 

"What  do  the  white  chiefs  want?"  queried  We- 
ah-rush-hah. 

"  They  say  that  the  new  white  father  will  be  gen- 
erous with  the  Otoes  and  Missouris,  and  wishes  us  to 
be  at  peace  with  our  enemies." 

"  Will  he  protect  us  from  those  robbers,  the 
Omahas?" 

"  He  wishes  us  to  make  peace  with  the  Omahas. 

43 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

The  United  States  would  go  with  us  to  the  Omahas, 
but  we  told  them  we  were  afraid.  We  are  poor  and 
weak  and  the  Omahas  would  kill  us." 

"  Good,"  approved  We-ah-rush-hah. 

"  There  are  two  of  the  white  chiefs,"  added  We- 
the-a,  or  Hospitable  One,  the  Missouri  chief.  "  They 
wear  long  knives  by  their  sides.  Their  hair  is  of 
strange  color.  The  hair  of  one  is  yellow  like  ripe  corn ; 
the  hair  of  the  other  is  red  as  pipe-stone.  The  Red 
Head  is  big  and  pleasant ;  the  yellow-haired  one  is  slim 
and  very  straight,  and  when  he  speaks  he  does  not 
smile.  Yes,  the  Red  Head  is  a  buffalo,  but  the  other 
is  an  elk." 

"  They  have  three  boats/'  added  Shos-gus-can,  or 
White  Horse,  who  was  an  Oto.  ''  One  boat  is  larger 
than  any  boat  of  any  trader.  It  has  a  gun  that  talks 
in  thunder.  Of  the  other  boats,  one  is  painted  white, 
one  is  painted  red.  The  chiefs  are  dressed  in  long 
blue  shirts  that  glitter  with  shining  metal.  The  party 
are  strong  in  arms.  They  have  much  guns,  and  powder 
and  lead,  and  much  medicine.  They  have  a  gun  thai 
shoots  with  air,  and  shoots  many  times.  It  is  great 
medicine.  They  have  a  man  all  black  like  a  buffalo 
in  fall,  with  very  white  teeth  and  short  black  hair, 
curly  like  a  buffalo's.  He  is  great  medicine.  They 
carry  a  white  flag  with  blue  and  red  borders.  Red, 
white  and  blue  are  their  medicine  colors.  The  flag  is 
their  peace  sign.  There  are  French  with  them,  from 
below,  and  another,  a  trader  from  the  Sioux.  They 

44 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  WHITE  CHIEFS 

received  us  under  a  white  lodge,  and  have  named  the 
place  the  Council-bluffs.  They  must  be  of  a  great 
nation," 

"  I  will  go  and  see  these  United  States,  and  talk 
with  them,"  announced  Little  Thief,  majestically. 
"  Their  presents  have  been  good,  their  words  sound 
good.  It  is  unwise  to  refuse  gifts  laid  upon  the  prairie. 
If  indeed  we  have  a  new  father  for  all  the  Indians, 
maybe  by  listening  to  his  chiefs  we  can  get  more  from 
him  than  we  did  from  our  Spanish  father.  I  will  go 
and  talk,  at  the  burnt  Omaha  village.  Let  the  four 
white  men  who  have  come  with  gifts  and  a  message, 
seeking  brothers-who-have-run-away,  be  well  treated, 
so  that  we  shall  be  well  treated  also." 

Then  the  council  broke  up. 

On  the  outskirts,  a  boy,  Little  White  Osage,  had 
listened  with  all  his  ears.  The  affair  was  very  interest- 
ing. A  hot  desire  filled  his  heart  to  go,  himself,  and 
see  these  United  States  warriors,  with  their  painted 
boats  and  their  marvelous  guns  and  their  black  medi- 
cine-man and  their  two  chiefs  whose  hair  was  different, 
like  his  own  hair. 

His  own  hair  was  brown  and  fine  instead  of  being 
black  and  coarse,  and  his  eyes  were  blue  instead  of 
black,  and  his  skin,  even  in  its  tan,  was  light  instead  of 
dark.  Sometimes  he  was  puzzled  to  remember  just 
how  he  had  come  among  the  Otoes.  He  did  not  always 
feel  like  an  Indian.  To  be  sure,  he  had  been  bought 
from  the  Osages  by  the  Otoes;  but  away,  'way  back 

45 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

there  had  been  a  woman,  a  light-haired,  soft-skinned 
woman,  among  the  Osages,  who  had  kissed  him  and 
hugged  him  and  had  taught  him  a  language  that  he 
well-nigh  had  forgotten. 

Occasionally  one  of  those  strange  words  rose  to 
his  lips,  but  he  rarely  used  it,  because  the  Osages,  and 
now  the  Otoes,  did  not  wish  him  to  use  it. 

The  Otoes  called  him  Little  White  Osage,  as  a 
kind  of  slur.  Nobody  kissed  him  and  hugged  him,  but 
in  their  ill-natured  moments  the  Oto  squaws  beat  him, 
and  the  children  teased  him.  The  squaws  never  beat 
the  other  boys.  Antoine,  the  French  trader,  was  kinder 
to  him.  But  Antoine  had  married  an  Oto  woman,  and 
all  his  children  were  dark  and  Indian. 

"At  the  burnt  Omaha  village,"  had  said  Chief  Little 
Thief. 

Little  White  Osage  knew  where  this  was.  The 
United  States  chiefs,  by  their  messengers,  had  invited 
Little  Thief  to  meet  them  at  the  principal  Omaha 
Indian  village,  so  that  peace  might  be  made  between 
the  Omahas  and  the  Otoes.  But  the  village  had  been 
smitten  by  a  sickness — the  smallpox,  old  Antoine  had 
named  it,  and  the  frightened  Omahas  had  burned  their 
lodges  and  had  fled,  such  as  were  able.  Only  the  site 
of  the  village  remained,  and  its  graves. 

It  would  be  of  no  use  to  try  to  go  with  the  chief's 
party.  They  would  not  want  boys,  and  especially  a 
boy  who  was  not  like  other  Indian  boys,  and  bore  a 
name  of  the  hated  Osages.  Therefore,  this  night,  in 

46 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  WHITE  CHIEFS 

the  dusk,  he  slipped  from  under  his  thin  blanket  in 
the  skin  lodge,  where  slumbered;  old  Antoine  and 
family,  and  scuttled,  bending  low,  out  into  the  prairie. 

He  would  have  sought  the  four  white  men  who 
had  come  from  the  United  States  chiefs'  camp,  but 
they  had  left,  looking  for  two  other  men  who  had 
strayed.  And  besides,  he  didn't  feel  certain  that  they 
would  help  him. 

The  prairie  was  thick  with  high  grasses,  and  with 
bushes  whereon  berries  were  ripening;  he  wore  only 
a  cloth  about  his  waist,  on  his  feet  moccasins,  but  he 
did  not  mind,  for  his  skin  was  tough.  He  carried  his 
bow,  of  the  yellow  osage  wood,  and  slung  under  his 
left  arm  his  badger-hide  quiver  containing  blunt  reed 
arrows. 

The  damp  night  air  was  heavy  with  smoke,  for 
the  prairies  had  been  fired  in  order  to  drive  out  the 
game.  Now  and  then  he  startled  some  animal.  Eyes 
glowed  at  him,  and  disappeared,  and  a  shadowy  form 
loped  away.  That  was  a  wolf.  He  was  not  afraid  of 
any  cowardly  wolf.  Larger  forms  bolted,  with  snorts. 
They  were  antelope.  To  a  tremendous  snort  a  much 
larger  form  bounded  from  his  path.  That  was  an 
elk.  But  he  hastened  on  at  a  trot  and  fast  walk,  alert 
and  excited,  his  nostrils  and  eyes  and  ears  wide,  while 
he  ever  kept  the  North  Star  before  him  on  his  left. 

It  seemed  long  ere  in  the  east,  whither  he  was 
hurrying,  the  stars  were  paling.  On  his  swift  young 
legs  he  had  covered  many  miles.  None  of  the  Oto  or 

4  47 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

Missouri  boys  could  have  done  better,  but  he  simply 
had  to  rest.  The  dawn  brightened ;  he  should  eat  and 
hide  himself  and  sleep.  So  he  paused,  to  make  plans. 

"  Wah!  "  And  "  Hoorah!  "  "  Hoorah!  "  was  one 
of  those  strange  words  which  would  rise  to  his  lips.  Far 
before  him,  although  not  more  than  three  or  four  hours' 
travel,  was  a  low  line  of  trees  marking  the  course  of 
the  big  river.  He  took  a  step;  from  a  clump  of  brush 
leaped  a  rabbit — and  stopped  to  squat.  Instantly  Little 
White  Osage  had  strung  bow,  fitted  arrow,  and  shot. 
The  arrow  thudded,  the  rabbit  scarcely  kicked.  Pick- 
ing him  up,  Little  White  Osage  trotted  on,  his  break- 
fast in  hand. 

Now  he  smelled  smoke  stronger,  and  scouting  about 
he  cautiously  approached  a  smouldering  camp-fire. 
Omahas?  But  he  espied  nobody  moving,  or  lying 
down.  It  was  an  old  camp-fire.  Around  it  he  dis- 
covered in  the  dust  that  had  been  stirred  up,  the  prints 
of  boots.  The  white  men  had  been  here — perhaps  the 
messengers  to  the  camp  of  Little  Thief.  Good!  He 
might  cook  his  rabbit;  and  sitting,  he  did  cook  it  after 
he  had  built  the  fire  into  more  heat.  He  ate.  Then  he 
curled  in  the  grass,  like  a  brown  rabbit  himself,  and 
slept. 

When  he  wakened,  the  sun  was  high.  He  stretched ; 
peered,  to  be  safe;  drank  from  a  nearby  creek,  and 
set  forward  again.  Nearer  he  drew  to  the  big  river, 
and  nearer;  and  he  had  to  move  more  carefully  lest  the 
Qmahas  should  be  lurking  at  their  village,  and  sight 

48 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  WHITE  CHIEFS 

him.  The  Omahas  would  be  glad  to  capture  anybody 
from  the  Otoes.  There  was  no  peace  between  the  two 
peoples. 

The  ruined  village  lay  lifeless  and  black,  with  its 
graves  on  the  hill  above  it.  He  circled  the  village, 
and  found  a  spot  whence  he  could  gaze  down. 

The  broad  big  river  flowed  evenly  between  its  low 
banks;  curving  amidst  the  willows  and  cottonwoods 
and  sandbars,  it  was  the  highway  for  the  great  white 
village  of  "  San  Loui'/'  at  its  mouth  many  days  to  the 
south.  It  led  also  up  into  the  country  of  the  Mandans 
and  the  fierce  Sioux,  in  the  unknown  north.  And 
yonder,  on  a  sand  sprit  above  the  mouth  of  the  Omaha 
Creek,  was  the  white  chiefs'  camp! 

With  his  sharp  eyes  Little  White  Osage  eagerly 
surveyed.  Three  boats  there  were,  just  as  said  by 
Shos-gus-can :  one  painted  white,  and  one  painted  red, 
and  one  very  large,  fastened  in  the  shallows.  On  the 
sand  were  kettles,  over  fires,  and  many  men  moving 
about,  or  lying  under  a  canopy;  and  a  red,  white  and 
blue  flag  flying  in  the  breeze. 

A  party  were  leaving  the  camp,  and  coming  toward 
him.  They  could  not  see  him — he  was  too  cleverly 
hidden  in  the  bushes,  above.  Wading  through  the 
grasses  waist  high  they  made  for  the  creek  and  halted 
where  the  beavers  had  dammed  it  into  a  pond.  These 
were  white  men,  surely.  They  numbered  the  fingers 
on  two  hands,  and  three  more  fingers.  They  carried 
guns,  and  a  net  of  branches  and  twigs;  and  one,  a  tall 

40 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

straight  man,  wore  at  his  side  a  long  knife  in  a  sheath 
which  flashed.  He  had  on  his  head  a  queer  three- 
cornered  covering.  He  was  the  leader,  for  when  he 
spoke  and  pointed,  the  other  men  jumped  to  obey. 

They  walked  into  the  water,  to  net  fish.  They 
hauled  and  tugged  and  plashed  and  laughed  and 
shouted ;  and  when  they  emerged  upon  the  bank  again 
their  net  was  so  heavy  that  the  leader  sprang  to  help 
them.  He  tossed  aside  his  head  covering.  His  hair 
was  bright  like  ripe  corn.  One  of  the  two  chiefs,  he! 

What  a  lot  of  fish  they  brought  out !  Hundreds  of 
them  sparkled  in  the  sun.  This  sport  continued  until 
near  sunset,  when  the  men  all  went  away,  to  eat  and 
sleep. 

At  dusk  little  White  Osage  stole  down  to  the  creek. 
Some  of  the  fish  were  scattered  about,  but  they  were 
stiff  and  dull;  he  could  not  eat  them  without  cooking 
them  and  he  was  afraid  to  risk  a  fire.  So  he  gathered 
mussels  and  clams,  and  these  were  pretty  good,  raw. 

That  night  the  camp-fires  of  the  "  'Nited  States  " 
warriors  blazed  on  the  beach  at  the  river ;  in  the  grasses 
of  a  hollow  above  the  creek  Little  White  Osage  finally 
slept. 

Therefore  another  morning  dawned  and  found  him 
still  here,  waiting  to  see  what  the  new  whites  would 
do  next.  But  he  must  not  be  caught  by  Chief  Little 
Thief  and  old  Antoine,  or  they  would  punish  him. 

The  United  States  were  eating.  Almost  could  he 
smell  the  meat  on  the  fires.  After  eating,  the  camp 

50 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  WHITE  CHIEFS 

busied  itself  in  many  ways.  Some  of  the  men  again 
walked  up  the  creek.  Others  raised  a  pole,  or  mast,  on 
the  largest  boat.  Others  swam  and  frolicked  in  the 
river.  Evidently  the  camp  was  staying  for  the  arrival 
of  We-ah-rush-hah. 

But  that  meat !  The  thought  of  it  made  the  mouth 
of  Little  White  Osage  to  water.  Well,  he  must  go 
and  find  something  and  cook  it  where  he  would  be 
safe,  and  then  return  to  those  women  and  children  who 
did  not  like  him.  He  had  seen  the  "  'Nited  States," 
and  their  chief  with  the  yellow  hair.  Maybe  he  had 
seen  the  red-hair  chief,  too. 

He  crept  on  hands  and  knees,  until  he  might  trudge 
boldly,  aiming  northward  so  as  not  to  meet  with  Little 
Thief.  When  after  a  time  he  looked  back,  toward  the 
river,  he  saw  a  great  smoke  rising.  The  United  States 
had  set  the  prairie  afire ! 

Hah!  That  they  had!  Did  they  set  the  prairie 
afire  just  to  burn  him,  a  boy?  Had  they  known  that 
he  was  watching  them,  and  had  that  made  them  angry  ? 
The  smoke  increased  rapidly — broadened  and  billowed. 
The  prairie  breeze  puffed  full  and  strong  from  the 
southeast,  and  the  pungent  odor  of  burning  grasses 
swept  across  his  quivering  nostrils.  The  fire  was  pur- 
suing him.  It  had  cut  off  any  retreat  to  the  big  river 
waters;  it  was  swifter  than  an  antelope,  on  his  trail. 
Very  cunning  and  cruel  were  those  "  'Nited  States  " 
men. 

Through  the  tall  dry  grasses  strained  Little  White 

51 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

Osage,  seeking  refuge.  He  sobbed  in  his  husky  throat. 
If  he  might  but  reach  that  line  of  sand  hills,  yonder, 
they  would  break  the  wall  of  fire  and  save  him.  It 
was  such  a  big  fire  to  send  after  such  a  small  boy. 
Now  the  sun  was  veiled  by  the  scudding  smoke,  and 
the  wind  blew  acrid  and  hot.  Before  him  fled  animals 
— racing  antelope  and  bounding  elk,  galloping  wolves 
and  darting  birds.  They  were  fast;  but  he — alas,  he 
was  too  slow,  and  he  was  weak  and  tired.  Was  he  to 
be  burned?  He  threw  aside  his  quiver,  and  next  his 
bow.  They  felt  so  heavy. 

The  fire  was  close.  He  could  hear  the  crackle  and 
the  popping  as  it  devoured  everything.  The  sand  hills 
were  mocking  him ;  they  seemed  to  sneak  backward  as 
he  toiled  forward.  Suddenly,  panting  and  stumbling, 
he  burst  into  a  little  clearing,  where  the  grasses  were 
short.  In  the  midst  of  the  clearing  lay  the  carcass  of 
a  buffalo  bull. 

With  dimmed  staring  eyes  Little  White  Osage,  cast- 
ing wildly  about  for  shelter,  saw.  He  saw  the  carcass, 
partially  cut  up;  the  meat  had  been  piled  on  the  hide, 
as  if  the  hunters  had  left,  to  get  it  another  time;  and 
on  the  meat  was  planted  a  ramrod  or  wiping-stick, 
with  a  coat  hung  on  it,  to  keep  off  the  wolves.  But 
nobody  was  here. 

Not  in  vain  had  little  White  Osage  been  trained  to 
look  out  for  himself.  Now  he  knew  what  he  could  do. 
He  staggered  for  the  meat-pile ;  frantically  tore  it  away, 
but  not  to  eat  it.  He  barely  could  lift  the  great  hide, 

62 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  WHITE  CHIEFS 

but  lift  it  he  did;  wriggled  underneath,  drew  it  over 
him,  and  crouched  there,  gasping. 

Crackle,  pop,  roar — and  the  wall  of  fire  charged 
the  clearing,  dashed  into  it,  licked  hotly  across  it,  and 
snatched  at  the  robe.  He  felt  the  robe  shrivel  and 
writhe,  and  smelled  the  stench  of  sizzling  flesh  and  hair. 
He  could  scarcely  breathe.  Over  him  the  buffalo  hide 
was  scorching  through  and  through.  How  the  fire 
roared,  how  the  wind  blew;  but  neither  fire  nor  wind 
could  get  at  him  through  that  tough,  inch-thick  canopy. 
Almost  smothered  by  heat  and  smoke,  Little  White 
Osage  cringed,  waiting.  He  was  a  wee  bit  afraid. 

Soon  he  knew  that  the  fire  had  passed.  He  ven- 
tured to  raise  an  edge  of  the  hide  and  peek  from  under. 
Smoke  wafted  into  his  face  and  choked  him.  Black 
lay  the  cindered  land  around ;  the  fire  was  surging  on 
to  the  west,  whert  Jie  sand  hills  would  stop  it,  but  i: 
had  mowed  a  path  too  hot  to  walk  on,  yet.  He  must 
stay  awhile. 

He  reached  out  a  hand  and  dragged  to  him  a  piece 
of  the  charred  bloody  buffalo  meat,  and  nibbled  at  it. 
Over  him  the  buffalo  hide  had  stiffened,  to  form  a  pup- 
tent  ;  and  really  he  was  not  so  very  uncomfortable.  He 
ate,  and  stretching  the  best  that  he  might,  pillowed 
his  face  on  his  bended  arm.  Next,  he  was  asleep — tired 
Little  White  Osage. 

He  slept  with  an  ear  open,  for  voices  and  tread  of 
feet  aroused  him.  People  were  coming.  He  craned 
his  neck  to  peer  about — and  ducked  further  inside,  like 
a  turtle  inside  its  shell. 

55 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLAUK 

Two  persons  had  arrived  in  the  clearing.  They 
were  walking  straight  toward  him.  They  were  white 
men.  They  were  some  of  those  United  States  warriors ! 

A  moment  more,  and  a  heavy  foot  kicked  the  hide — 
thump ! — and  hands  ruthlessly  overthrew  it.  Exposed, 
Little  White  Osage  sprang  erect,  gained  his  feet  at  a 
bound,  stood  bravely  facing  the  two  warriors  of  the 
"  'Nited  States."  He  would  not  show  them  that  he 
feared. 

"  B'  gorry,"  exclaimed  a  voice,  "  here's  a  quare  pea 
k)  apod!" 


II 

PETER  GOES  ABOARD 

LITTLE  WHITE  OSAGE  did  not  understand  -the 
words,  but  they  were  said  with  a  laugh.  He  could  only 
stare. 

Two,  were  these  United  States  men.  The  one  who 
had  spoken  was  short  and  broad  and  quick,  like  a  bear. 
He  had  a  lean  freckled  face  and  shrewd  twinkling 
grey  eyes.  He  wore  a  blue  shirt,  and  belted  trousers, 
and  boots,  and  on  his  head  a  wide-brimmed  black  hat. 
Leaning  upon  a  long-barrelled  flint-lock  gun,  he 
laughed. 

The  other  man  was  younger — much  younger, 
almost  too  young  to  take  the  war  path.  He  was  smooth- 
faced and  very  blue-eyed.  He  wore  a  blue  shirt,  too, 
and  fringed  buckskin  trousers,  and  moccasins,  and 
around  his  black  hair  a  red  handkerchief,  gaily  tied. 

But  as  his  hair  was  black,  he  could  not  be  one  of 
the  chiefs.  The  short  man's  hair  was  not  black,  but  it 
was  the  color  of  wet  sand — and  so  he  could  not  be  one 
of  the  chiefs. 

Now  the  young  warrior  spoke  and  his  voice  was 
sweet. 

"Who  are  you,  boy?" 

This  Little  White  Osage  did  understand.  The 
words  penetrated  through  as  from  a  distance.  There 

56 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

had  been  a  long  time  since  he  had  heard  such  words. 
His  throat  swelled  to  answer. 

"  Boy,"  he  stammered. 

"I  see.    What  boy?    Oto?  " 

Little  White  Osage  shook  his  head. 

"Missouri?" 

Little  White  Osage  shook  his  head. 

"'Maha?" 

Little  White  Osage  shook  his  head  more  vigorously. 

"What  tribe,  then?" 

Little  White  Osage  struggled  hard  to  reply  in  that 
language.  But  his  throat  closed  tight.  The  young 
warrior  was  so  handsome  and  so  kind,  and  the  broad 
warrior  was  so  homely  and  so  alert,  and  he  himself 
was  so  small  and  so  full  of  hopes  and  fears,  that  he 
choked.  He  could  not  speak  at  all. 

"  See  what  you  can  make  out  of  him,  Pat/*  bade 
the  young  warrior.  "  He  seems  afraid  of  me.  But  he 
understands  English." 

"  Faith,  now,"  drawled  the  bold  warrior,  "  sure, 
mebbe  he's  wan  o'  them  Mandan  Injuns,  from  up-river. 
Haven't  they  the  eyes  an'  complexion  same  as  a  white 
man  ? "  And  he  addressed  Little  White  Osage. 
"Mandan?" 

Little  White  Osage  again  shook  his  head 

"  Well,  if  you're  not  Oto  or  Missouri  or  'Maha  or 
Mandan,  who  be  ye?  My  name's  Patrick  Gass ;  what's 
your  name?  " 

The  throat  of  Little  White  Osage  swelled.     He 

56 


PETER  GOES  ABOARD 

strove — and  suddenly  out  popped  the  word,  long,  long 
unused. 

"  Kerr." 

"What?" 

"  Kerr— white  boy." 

"  Holy  saints !  "  exclaimed  Patrick  Gass,  astonished. 
"  Did  you  hear  that,  George,  lad  ?  An'  sure  he's  white, 
an'  by  the  name  o'  him  Irish!  Ye'll  find  the  Irish, 
wherever  ye  go.  An'  what  might  be  your  first  name, 
me  boy?  Is  it  Pat,  or  Terry,  or  Mike?  " 

That  was  too  much  talk  all  at  once,  for  Little  White 
Osage.  The  man  called  George  helped  him  out. 

"  How  can  he  understand  your  villainous  brogue, 
Pat!  Let  me  talk  to  him."  And  he  invited,  of  Little 
White  Osage:  "  Kerr,  you  say ?" 

Little  White  Osage  nodded. 

"You  are  white?" 

"  Yes." 

"  Where'd  you  come  from  ?  " 

"  Oto." 

"  Where  are  you  going?  " 

A  boldness  seized  upon  Little  White  Osage. 

"You,"  he  said.  "Up  big  river— with  'Nited 
States." 

"  Oho !  "  laughed  Patrick  Gass.  "Another  recruit, 
is  it  ?  Does  your  mother  say  you  might  ?  " 

Little  White  Osage  shook  his  head.  Somehow,  a 
lump  rose  in  his  throat.  "  Mother? "  What  was 
"  mother  ?  "  That  soft  white  woman,  who  away  back 

57 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

in  the  Osage  village  had  hugged  him  and  kissed  him 
and  taught  him  these  words  which  thronged  inside  him, 
must  have  been  "  mother." 

"  No  mother.  No  f-f-father."  He  carefully  felt 
his  way.  "  Ken — Kentucky.  Peter — Peter  Kerr.  Go  up 
river  with  'Nited  States."  And  he  managed  another 
word.  "  Please." 

"An'  we  set  the  prairie  afire  to  call  in  the  Injuns, 
an'  here's  what  we  caught,"  ejaculated  Patrick  Gass. 
"  Peter  Kerr,  be  it  ?  Likely  that  was  his  father's  name, 
an'  he's  young  Peter.  Well,  what'll  we  do  with  him?  " 

"  We  can  take  him  back  to  the  boats  with  us,  I 
suppose,"  mused  George.  "  But  as  for  his  going  on 
with  the  expedition,  Pat,  I  don't  know  what  the  cap- 
tains would  say,  or  the  Otoes,  either.  He's  from  the 
Otoes,  he  claims." 

"Ah,  sure  ain't  he  an  Irishman  from  Kentucky?" 
reminded  Pat.  "An'  ain't  we  Irish,  too?  Mebbe  we 
can  buy  the  young  spalpeen,  for  a  trifle  o'  paint  an* 
powder." 

George  didn't  think  so. 

"  I  doubt  if  the  Otoes  would  sell  him.  How  long 
have  you  been  with  the  Otoes,  Peter?  " 

Little  White  Osage  had  been  listening  as  hard  as 
he  could,  trying  to  guess  what  these  long  speeches 
were  about.  That  last  question,  to  him,  awakened  an 
answer. 

"Al-ways,"  he  uttered,  slowly.  "  First  Osage,  then 
Oto." 


PETER  GOES  ABOARD 

$ 
"  Do  you  know  where  Kentucky  is?  " 

Little  White  Osage  shook  his  head. 

"  No."     But  he  pointed  to  the  east.     "  There." 

"  Where  are  your  father  and  mother?  " 

"  There,"  and  Little  White  Osage  pointed  to  the 
sky. 

"  Do  you  know  where  St.  Louis  is?  " 

"  There,"  and  he  pointed  south. 

"  Do  you  know  where  we're  going?  " 

"  There,"  and  he  pointed  north. 

"When  did  you  leave  the  Otoes?" 

"  Two  days." 

"Why?" 

"  Me— white;  you  white.  I  'Nited  States."  And 
Little  White  Osage  stiffened  proudly. 

"  Bedad,  spoken  like  a  good  citizen,"  approved 
Patrick  Gass.  "  Faith,  George,  lad,  'twould  be  a  shame 
to  return  him  to  the  Injuns — to  them  oncivilized  ras- 
cals. Can't  we  smuggle  him  aboard?  An'  then  after 
we're  all  under  way  the  two  captains  can  do  with  him 
as  they  plaze."  His  gray  eyes  danced  at  the  thought, 
and  he  scanned  George  questioningly. 

George's  blue  eyes  were  twinkling. 

"  I  dare  say  that  on  our  way  up  river  we'll  meet 
more  traders  coming  down,  and  he  can  be  sent  to  St. 
Louis  that  way.  But  we're  liable  to  be  in  a  scrape, 
Pat,  if  we're  found  out." 

"  What's  an  Irishman  without  a  scrape?  "  laughed 
Pat.  "  Listen,  now/'  he  bade,  to  Little  White  Osage, 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

V?ho  had  been  attending  very  keenly.  "After  dusk  ye 
slip  aboard  the  big  boat.  Understand?  " 

Little  White  Osage  nodded.  They  had  planned 
something  good  for  him,  and  he  was  willing  to  agree 
to  whatever  it  was. 

"  Slip  aboard  the  big  boat,"  and  Pat  pointed  and 
signed,  to  make  plain,  "  an'  hide  yourself  away  for'd 
down  among  the  supplies.  Kape  quiet  till  after  the 
council,  or  the  Otoes'll  get  ye.  I'll  be  findin'  ye  an' 
passin'  ye  a  bit  to  ate.  An'  when  we're  a-sailin'  up 
the  big  river  wance  more,  then  ye'll  have  to  face  the 
captains,  an'  what  they'll  say  I  dunno,  but  I'll  bet  my 
hat  that  Cap'n  Clark'll  talk  the  heart  o'  Cap'n  Lewis, 
who's  an  officer  an'  a  gintleman,  into  lettin'  ye  stay 
if  there's  proof  ye  have  no-wheres  else  to  go."  And 
Patrick  Gass  chuckled.  "  Sure,  they  can't  set  ye  afoot 
on  the  prairie." 

There  were  too  many  strange  words  in  this  speech, 
but  Little  White  Osage  caught  the  import. 

"  I  hide,"  he  said,  obediently.     "  In  big  boat" 

"Right-o!"  encouraged  George.  "And  if  you're 
found,  stand  up  for  yourself." 

"  No  tell,"  blurted  Little  White  Osage.  "  Talk  to 
'Nited  States  chiefs.  No  tell." 

"  B'  jabbers,  there's  pluck !  "  approved  Patrick 
Gass.  "  Now,  we  be  goin'  to  take  some  o'  this  meat 
back  wid  us,  but  we'll  lave  you  enough  to  chew  on. 
You  have  plenty  fire.  'Twas  only  for  signal  to  the 
Injuns  to  come  in  to  council.  We  had  no  thought  o' 

60 


PETER  GOES  ABOARD  ,. 

burnin'  annywan,  'specially  a  boy.  No,  or  of  burnin' 
me  own  coat,  nayther,  till  I  see  the  wind  changin'." 
He  and  George  rapidly  made  up  a  parcel  of  the  meat, 
blackened  and  charred  though  the  hunks  were.  "  But 
we  cooked  our  supper  by  it.  Goodbye  to  ye.  Chance 
be  we'll  see  ye  later."  With  airy  wave  of  hand  he 
trudged  away. 

"  His  name  is  Patrick  Gass.  My  name  is  George 
Shannon,"  'emphasized  George,  lingering  a  moment. 
"  Yours  is  Peter  Kerr.  All  right,  Peter.  Watch  out 
for  the  Otoes,  that  they  don't  spy  you  when  you  come 
in  after  dark." 

"I  come,"  answered  Peter,  carefully.  "  Oto  no 
catch." 

Away  they  hastened,  toward  the  river.  Standing 
stock-still,  Peter  watched  them  go.  Good  men  they 
were.  They  were  white;  he  was  white.  They  were 
'Nited  States;  he  was  to  be  'Nited  States,  too. 

He  did  not  pause  to  eat  now.  He  grabbed  a  chunk 
of  the  buffalo  meat  left  for  him,  and  trotted  for  the 
nearest  sand-hill.  The  fire  had  burned  before  him,  and 
the  earth  was  still  warm,  but  the  sand-hills  were 
untouched. 

He  drank,  at  last,  from  a  branch  of  the  Omaha 
Creek;  and  among  the  sand-hills  he  stayed  all  day. 

In  the  afternoon  he  heard,  from  off  toward  the 
United  States  camp  at  the  river,  a  rumble  like  thunder. 
It  was  the  big  gun!  At  dusk  he  saw  a  glow  redly 
lighting  the  eastern  horizon  over  the  river.  Maybe  thg 

61 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

United  States  were  having  a  war-dance.  At  any  rate, 
the  man  named  Pat  had  told  him  to  come ;  this  seemed 
to  be  the  best  time ;  and,  guided  by  the  glow,  he  hurried 
for  the  river. 

When  he  had  struck  the  river  well  above  the  camp, 
the  boats  and  the  beach  were  ruddy.  People  had  gath- 
ered about  a  huge  fire.  They  were  making  music  and 
dancing;  and  some  were  white  men  and  others  were 
Indians :  Otoes !  Chief  Little  Thief  had  arrived. 

Somewhat  fearing,  but  very  determined,  Peter 
cautiously  waded  out  into  the  water,  and  from  waist- 
deep  slipping  into  the  current  silently  swam  down, 
down,  outside  the  edge  of  the  firelight,  until  obliquing 
in  he  might  use  the  big  boat  as  a  shield.  With  his 
hand  he  felt  along  it;  encountered  a  rope  stretched 
taut  from  boat  to  water.  Wah!  Or — hoorah,  he 
meant. 

As  neatly  as  a  cat  he  swarmed  up  the  rope  and 
hoisted  himself  over  the  gunwale.  Sprawling  in,  he 
dropped  flat,  to  cower  in  the  shadow  of  the  mast.  A 
dark  figure,  with  a  gun,  had  seen  him — was  making 
for  him,  from  down  the  deck. 

"  Hist,  Peter !  "  huskily  spoke  a  voice.  "  'Tis  Pat 
Ye' re  all  right.  Stay  where  ye  are,  now !  " 

Yes,  except  for  Pat,  the  sentry,  all  the  big  boat 
was  deserted.  There  was  a  great  time  ashore. 
Crouched  panting  and  dripping,  Peter  witnessed,  from 
behind  the  mast.  The  shore  was  bright,  the  figures 
plainly  outlined.  There  were  the  two  white  chiefs.  Of 

62 


PETER  GOES  ABOARD 

this  he  was  certain.  They  had  on  their  heads  the  queer 
hats;  they  wore  long  tight  blue  shirts  that  glittered 
with  ornaments;  they  carried  the  long  knives,  in 
sheathes  at  their  sides ;  the  one  was  the  chief  with  the 
yellow  hair,  and  the  other  was  the  chief  with  the  red 
hair. 

The  'Nited  States  were  giving  a  feast  and  dance, 
evidently.  Two  of  them  were  making  music  by  draw- 
ing a  stick  across  a  box  held  to  their  chins;  and  the 
others,  and  the  Indians,  sat  in  a  circle,  around  the 
fire,  watching  the  dances. 

It  was  now  the  turn  of  the  Otoes,  for  they  sprang 
up,  and  into  the  centre,  to  dance.  Peter  knew  them, 
one  by  one:  Head  Chief  Little  Thief,  Big  Horse, 
Crow's  Head,  Black  Cat,  Iron  Eyes,  Bix  Ox,  Brave 
Man,  and  Big  Blue  Eyes — all  Otoes  except  Crow's 
Head  and  Black  Cat,  who  were  Missouris. 

They  danced.  It  wfcs  the  Oto  Buffalo  Dance. 
The  'Nited  States  warriors  cheered — and  on  a  sudden 
cheered  louder  and  clapped  their  hands  together,  for 
into  the  centre  had  leaped  a  new  figure,  to  dance  by 
himself. 

He  was  the  black  medicine  man ! 

His  eyes  rolled  white;  his  teeth  were  white;  but 
all  the  rest  of  him  was  black — and  he  was  very  large. 
Assuredly,  the  'Nited  States  must  be  a  great  and  power- 
ful nation,  with  such  medicine  men,  decided  little  Peter, 
watching. 

Along  the  deck  Patrick  Gass  hissed  and  beckoned 

5  63 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

"  Here,"  he  bade.  Peter  scurried  to  him.  "  Get 
down  in  for'd,"  and  Pat  pointed  to  the  open  door  of 
the  forecastle  or  wooden  house  that  had  been  built  in 
the  bows,  under  a  higher  deck.  "  Stow  yourself  away 
an'  kape  quiet.  Ye' 11  find  a  place." 

Peter  darted  in.  It  was  a  room  lined  with  beds 
in  tiers  from  floor  to  ceiling :  the  white  warriors'  sleep- 
ing-room. Clothing  was  hanging  against  the  far  end  • 
down  the  centre  was  a  narrow  table.  Like  a  cat  again, 
Peter  sprang  upon  the  table,  scrambled  into  the  highest 
of  the  bunks  on  this  side,  and  came  to  the  far-end 
wall.  The  wall  did  not  meet  the  roof ;  it  was  a  bulk- 
head partition  dividing  off  the  room  from  the  re- 
mainder of  the  bows.  Peter  thrust  his  arm  in  over 
the  top,  and  could  feel,  there  beyond,  a  solid  bale  on  a 
level  with  the  bunk.  He  wriggled  in  over,  landed 
cautiously,  explored  with  hands  and  feet,  in  the  dark- 
ness — and  stretched  out  in  a  space  that  had  been  left 
between  the  ballast  of  extra  supplies  and  the  deck 
above.  Good ! 

That  warm  August  night  the  "  'Nited  States  "  men 
of  Captains  Lewis  and  Clark  slept  on  the  sand,  in  the 
open  air,  by  the  river;  and  in  the  tent  of  the  captains 
slept  Chief  Little  Thief.  But  Patrick  Gass,  when  re- 
lieved from  guard  duty,  slept  in  the  forecastle,  near 
Peter — that  being,  as  he  yawned,  "  more  convanient." 


Ill 

PETER  MEETS  THE  CHIEFS 

THE  hour  was  early  when  Pat  stuck  his  head  over 
the  partition,  and  to  Peter  said :  "  Whisht !  Are  ye 
awake,  Peter?" 

"  H'lo,"  answered  Peter. 

"  I'll  fetch  ye  a  bite  to  eat,  an'  wather  to  drink," 
said  Patrick.  "An'  ye  best  lie  hid  till  we  start,  when 
the  Injuns  go.  'Twon't  be  long." 

"Aw-right,"  answered  Peter. 

Patrick  passed  in  to  him  some  dried  meat  and  a 
canteen  of  water.  After  that  the  day  seemed  to  move 
very  slowly.  Here  on  the  boat  all  was  quiet,  particu- 
larly in  Peter's  end.  However,  outside  on  the  shore 
there  was  a  constant  sound  of  voices,  from  the  'Nited 
States  camp. 

The  sun  rose  high,  as  betokened  by  the  close  warmth 
where  Peter  lay  hidden.  He  felt  as  though  he  must  get 
out  and  see  what  was  going  on.  So  he  peered  over  the 
top  of  the  partition,  to  find  whether  the  forecastle  was 
empty.  It  was.  He  slipped  down  into  it,  and  stealing 
through  and  worming  flat  across  the  deck,  peeped 
through  a  crack  in  the  gunwale. 

Little  Thief  and  his  Otoes  and  Missouris  had  not 
yet  gone.  They  were  holding  another  council  with  the 
'Nited  States.  More  talk!  The  'Nited  States  chiefs 

65 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

and  warriors  were  sitting,  and  the  Otoes  and  Missouris 
were  sitting,  all  forming  a  great  circle. 

One  after  another  the  Otoes  and  the  Missouris 
arose  and  talked,  and  the  white  chiefs  replied;  but  of 
all  this  talk  Peter  understood  little.  After  a  time  he 
grew  tired ;  the  sun  was  hot,  and  he  went  back  into  his 
nook.  He  still  had  meat  and  water  enough. 

It  was  much  later  when  he  awakened,  to  hear 
people  in  the  room  beyond  his  partition.  There  were 
white  men's  voices — one  voice  sounded  like  that  of  his 
other  friend,  George  Shannon.  And  there  were  groans. 
Soon  the  white  men  left — all  except  the  man  who 
groaned.  He  stayed.  Evidently  one  of  the  white  men 
was  sick,  and  had  been  put  into  a  bed. 

Dusk  was  falling,  and  Peter  thought  that  he  might 
venture  out  and  stretch  his  legs.  The  sounds  from  the 
sick  man  had  ceased;  maybe  he  slept.  Peter  peered 
over.  Everything  was  quiet;  and  forth  he  slipped — 
only  to  discover  that  in  the  open  door  was  sitting, 
amidst  the  dusk,  a  watcher.  It  was  the  United  States 
warrior,  George  Shannon.  He  saw  Peter,  poised  about 
to  leap  down,  and  smiled  and  beckoned.  Peter  lightly 
went  to  him. 

George  Shannon  looked  worn  and  anxious. 

"  Are  you  all  right,  Peter?  " 

"  Yes.    Aw-right." 

"A  soldier — very  sick/'  said  George,  and  pointed 
to  a  bunk. 

"  What  name?  "  asked  Peter. 


PETER  MEETS  THE  CHIEFS 

"  Charles  Floyd.  He  danced  and  got  hot.  Lay 
down  on  the  sand  all  night  and  got  cold.  Now  very 
sick." 

"  Huh,"  grunted  Peter.    "  Mebbe  get  well?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  George,  soberly. 

That  was  too  bad.  Why  didn't  they  call  in  the  black 
medicine-man  ? 

Except  for  George  and  the  sick  Charles  Floyd,  the 
boat  was  deserted ;  for  on  the  shore  another  dance  and 
feast  were  in  progress.  Chief  Little  Thief  and  his 
Indians  were  staying,  and  the  'Nited  States  appeared 
to  be  bent  upon  giving  them  a  good  time. 

All  that  night  the  sick  Charles  Floyd  moaned  at 
intervals,  in  the  bunk ;  and  George  Shannon  and  Patrick 
Gass  and  others  kept  watch  over  him;  while  Peter, 
on  the  other  side  of  the  partition,  listened  or  slept. 
Toward  morning,  when  Peter  next  woke  up,  he  had 
been  aroused  by  tramp  of  feet  over  his  head,  and  splash 
of  water  against  the  boat,  and  orders  shouted,  and  a 
movement  of  the  boat  itself. 

They  were  starting,  and  he  was  starting  with  them ! 
Hoorah !  Now  he  was  not  hungry  or  thirsty  or  tired ; 
he  was  excited. 

Yes,  the  boat  was  moving.  He  could  hear  the 
plashing  of  oars,  and  the  creak  as  the  sail  was  raised. 
And  in  a  few  minutes  more  the  boat  leaned  and  swerved 
and  tugged,  and  the  river  rippled  under  its  bow. 

Peter  waited  as  long  as  he  possibly  could  stand  it 
to  wait.  Patrick  Gass  had  said  for  him  to  lie  hidden 

67 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

until  Chief  Little  Thief  had  left,  and  the  boat  had 
started.  Very  well. 

All  was  silent  in  the  room  beyond.  He  peered,  and 
could  see  nobody.  Over  the  partition  he  once  more 
squirmed,  into  the  top-most  bunk;  and  feeling  with 
his  toes  let  himself  down.  The  door  was  shut,  but  it 
had  a  window  in  it  that  he  might  look  out  of;  and  if 
anybody  opened,  he  would  dive  under  the  table  or  under 
a  bunk,  until  he  saw  who  it  was. 

The  sick  man  in  the  bottom  bunk  opposite  suddenly 
exclaimed.  He  was  awake  and  watching. 

"  Who  are  you  ?  "  he  challenged  weakly. 

With  his  feet  on  the  floor,  Peter  paused,  to  stare. 
He  saw  a  pale,  clammy  countenance  gazing  at  him  from 
the  blanket  coverings — 'and  at  that  instant  the  door 
opened,  and  before  Peter  might  so  much  as  stir,  the 
chief  with  the  red  hair  entered.  Peter  was  fairly 
caught.  He  drew  breath  sharply,  and  resolved  not  to 
show  fear. 

The  chief  with  the  red  hair  was  all  in  buckskin, 
and  wore  moccasins  on  his  feet,  and  on  his  head  a 
round  hat  with  the  brim  looped  up  in  front.  His  face 
was  without  hair  and  was  very  tanned,  so  that  it  was 
reddish  brown  instead  of  white,  and  his  two  eyes  were 
clear,  keen  gray.  His  hair  was  bound  behind  in  a  long 
bag  of  thin  skin.  He  had  rather  a  large  nose,  and  a 
round  chin;  and  was  heavy. 

"Well!"  he  uttered.  He  glanced  swiftly  from 
Peter  to  the  sick  man's  bunk,  and  back  again  to  Peter. 
"What's  this?" 


PETER  MEETS  THE  CHIEFS 

"  He  stole  down  from  above,  Captain/'  said  the 
sick  man. 

"  How  are  you,  Sergeant?    Any  better?  " 

"  No,  sir.    I'm  awful  weak,  sir." 

"Much  pain?" 

"  Yes,  sir.     I've  been  suffering  terribly." 

"  I'm  sorry,  my  man.  We'll  do  all  we  can  for 
you."  Now  the  chief  spoke  to  Peter.  "  Who  are  you  ? 
How'd  you  come  here?"  His  voice  was  stern  and 
quick. 

"  I  hide,"  said  Peter. 

"Where?" 

Peter  pointed 

"  Who  brought  you  here  ?  " 

"  I  come.  Night.  Swim  down  river.  Hide."  For 
Peter  had  no  notion  of  telling  on  Patrick  Gass  and 
George  Shannon. 

"  Humph !  You  did !  "  And  the  chief  with  the 
red  hair  grunted.  "  Ran  away,  eh?  Who  was  your 
chief?" 

"  We-ah-rush-hah.  First  Osage,  then  Oto,  but  me 
white." 

"  Where's  your  mother?  " 

Peter  shook  his  head. 

"  Where's  your  father?  " 

Peter  shook  his  head. 

"  Here's  a  pretty  pickle,"  muttered  the  chief  with 
the  red  hair — and  Peter  wondered  what  he  meant. 
"  Well,  you  come  along  with  me."  And  he  added,  to 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

the  sick  man,  "  I'll  be  back  directly,  Charley;  as  soon 
as  I've  turned  this  stow-away  over.  Do  you  want  any- 
thing ?" 

"  No,  sir.  I'm  sleepy.  Maybe  I'll  sleep,"  and  the 
sick  man's  voice  trailed  off  into  a  murmur. 

"  Come  here,"  bade  the  red-haired  chief  to  Peter, 
beckoning  with  his  finger.  And  Peter  followed  Captain 
William  Clark,  of  the  United  States  Artillery,  and 
second  in  command  of  this  Captains  Lewis  and  Clark 
government  exploring  expedition  up  the  Missouri 
River,  through  the  doorway,  into  the  sunshine  and  the 
open  of  the  great  barge's  deck. 

Captain  Clark  led  straight  for  the  stern,  but  on  the 
way  Peter,  keeping  close  behind  him,  with  his  quick 
eyes  saw  many  things.  The  white  warriors,  in  buck- 
skins or  in  cloth,  were  busy  here  and  there,  mending 
clothes  and  tools  and  weapons  and  assorting  goods,  or 
viewing  the  river  banks — and  all  paused  to  gaze  at  him. 
The  big  sail  was  pulling  lustily,  from  its  mast.  At  the 
stern  two  warriors  were  steering.  In  the  barge's  wake 
were  sailing  the  two  smaller  barges,  the  red  one  and 
the  white  one.  They  followed  gallantly,  the  river 
rippled,  the  banks  were  flowing  past.  Nothing  was  to 
be  seen  moving  on  the  banks,  and  the  site  of  the 
Omaha  village,  and  the  sand  sprit  where  the  council 
with  Little  Thief  had  been  held,  were  gone.  Good! 

Before  the  cabin  in  the  stern  of  the  barge  were 
standing  the  slim,  yellow-haired  chief  and  Patrick 
Gass,  and  they  were  watching  Peter  coming.  The  slim 

70 


PETER  MEETS  THE  CHIEFS 

chief  was  dressed  in  his  blue  clothes  and  his  odd  hat, 
and  wore  his  long  knife  by  his  side.  His  hair  hung  in 
a  tail.  Patrick  Gass  was  dressed  as  always.  His  eyes 
twinkled  at  Peter,  as  if  to  say :  "  Now,  what  are  you 
going  to  do?  " 

Peter  knew  what  he  was  going  to  do.  He  was 
going  to  stay  with  the  'Nited  States. 

But  the  slim  chief's  face  betrayed  no  sign.  He 
simply  waited.  For  this  Captain  Meri wether  Lewis,  of 
the  First  United  States  Infantry,  the  leader  of  the 
exploring  expedition  sent  out  by  President  Jefferson 
and  Congress,  was  not  much  given  to  smiles,  and  was 
strong  on  discipline.  A  thorough  young  soldier,  he, 
who  felt  the  heavy  responsibility  of  taking  the  expedi- 
tion safely  through,  with  the  help  of  Captain  Clark. 

"  Here's  what  I've  found,  Merne,"  announced  Cap- 
tain Clark,  with  half  a  laugh. 

"Who  is  he,  Will?"  Captain  Lewis's  query  was 
quick,  and  his  brows  knitted  a  trifle. 

"  He  says  he's  white.  I  found  him  in  the  forec'sle 
when  I  went  in  to  see  about  Floyd." 

"How  is  Floyd?" 

"  No  better." 

"  How'd  that  boy  get  there?  " 

"  Ran  away  from  the  Otoes,  he  says,  and  hid  him- 
self in  the  bows  beyond  the  bulkhead.  Like  as  not  he's 
been  there  a  day  or  two." 

"  What's  your  name?  "  demanded  the  Long  Knife 
Chief,  of  Peter. 

71 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

"  Peter." 

"What  else?" 

«  Peter— Kerr." 

"Where  did  you  live?" 

"Oto.    NolikeOto.    No  like  Indian.    White  boy." 

"  Hah !    Did  the  Otoes  steal  you  ?  " 

"  Osage.     Oto  buy  me." 

"Where  did  the  Osage  get  you?" 

"  Do — not — know,"  said  Peter,  slowly,  trying  to 
speak  the  right  words.  "  Kill — father.  Take  mother. 
She  die.  Long  time  ago.  Me — I  white." 

"  Sure,  Captain,  didn't  we  hear  down  St.  Louis 
way  of  a  f  am  ly  by  the  same  name  o'  Kerr  bein'  wiped 
out  by  the  Injuns  some  years  back,"  spoke  Patrick 
Gass,  saluting.  'Twas  up  country  a  bit,  though  I 
disremember  where,  sorr." 

"  Yes,  but  there  was  no  boy." 

"  There  was  a  bit  of  a  baby,  seems  to  me  like,  sorr," 
alleged  Sergeant  Gass.  "An'  the  woman  was  carried 
off,  sorr." 

Captain  Lewis  shrugged  his  shoulders  impatiently. 

"  Very  well,  Pat.  You  go  forward  and  you  and 
Shannon  see  if  you  can  do  anything  for  Floyd.  Don't 
let  him  move  much.  He's  liable  to  be  restless." 

"  Yes,  sorr."  Patrick  Gass  saluted  but  lingered  a 
moment.  "  If  I  might  be  so  bold,  sorr " 

"What  is  it?" 

"  Seem'  as  how  the  boy's  Irish " 

"  Irish !    He's  as  black  as  an  Indian ! " 

72 


PETER  MEETS  THE  CHIEFS 

"  Yes,  sorr.  But  the  eyes  an'  hair  of  him,  sorr. 
An*  sure  he  has  an  Irish  name.  An'  I  was  thinkin', 
beggin'  your  pardon,  sorr,  if  you  decided  to  kape  him 
a  spell,  Shannon  an'  me'd  look  after  him  for  ye,  sorr. 
We  Irish  are  all  cousins,  ye  know,  sorr." 

Young  Captain  Lewis's  mouth  twitched ;  he  shot  a 
glance  at  Captain  Clark,  who  smiled  back. 

"  Does  that  sound  to  you  like  an  Irish  name,  Cap- 
tain ?  More  like  good  old  English,  to  me !  " 

"  I  was  thinkin'  again,  sorr,"  pursued  Pat,  "  that 
more  like  it's  O'Kerr." 

"  That  will  do,  Gass.  Go  forward  and  find  Shan- 
non, and  the  two  of  you  tend  to  Floyd."  Patrick 
saluted  and  trudged  away.  Captain  Lewis  continued, 
to  Captain  Clark:  '  There's  something  back  of  this, 
Will.  Gass  is  too  willing.  I'll  wager  he  and  Shannon 
know  more  than  we  do." 

"  Oh,  it's  the  Irish  in  him,  Merne.  Do  you  think 
they  smuggled  the  lad  aboard  ?  " 

"  If  they  did who  brought  you  on  this  boat?  " 

demanded  the  Long  Knife  Chief  of  Peter. 

Peter  Shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  I  come,"  he  said. 

"Why?" 

"  Go  with  'Nited  States.    Up  big  river." 

"  Who  taught  you  to  speak  English?  " 

"  My— mother,"  stammered  Peter.  "  No  English; 
'Merican;  Ken-tuck-y." 

"Kentuckian!"  blurted  Captain  Clark.     "He  is 

73 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLAKK 

white,  sure  enough.  That  comes  pretty  close  to  home- 
folks,  Merne.  I  know  some  Kerrs  there,  myself." 

"  But  the  question  is,  what  are  we  to  do  with  him  ?  " 
reminded  Captain  Lewis,  sharply.  "  We  can't  cumber 
ourselves  with  useless  baggage,  and  we  can't  start  out 
by  stealing  children  from  the  Indians." 

"  No;  and  yet  it  sort  of  goes  against  the  grain  to 
let  the  Indians  keep  any  children  they've  stolen,"  argued 
Captain  Clark. 

"  Yes,  I  agree  with  you  there,  Will,"  answered 
Captain  Lewis.  "  But  the  President  instructed  us  to 
make  friends  with  all  the  tribes.  We  could  have  shown 
the  Otoes  they  were  wrong,  and  could  have  offered  to 
buy  the  boy  or  have  made  them  promise  to  send  him  to 
St.  Louis  if  we  couldn't  send  him  ourselves.  This  looks 
like  bad  faith/' 

"  Shall  we  stop  and  put  him  ashore,  Merne?  " 

"If  we  put  you  ashore  will  you  go  back  to  We- 
ah-rush-hah?  "  queried  the  Long  Knife  Chief,  of  Peter. 

Peter  had  not  comprehended  all  that  had  been  said, 
but  he  had  listened  anxiously — and  now  he  did  under- 
stand that  they  were  talking  of  putting  him  off. 

"No!"  he  exclaimed.  "No  go  back  to  We-ah- 
rush-hah.  'Maha  catch  me ;  Sioux  catch  me;  Oto  whip 
me.  No  Indian;  white."  And  he  added:  "I  follow 
boat." 

"If  you  give  the  order,  Merne,  we'll  stop  and  send 
him  back  with  an  escort,"  teased  Captain  Clark,  who 
knew  very  well  that  Captain  Lewis  would  do  no  such 

7* 


PETER  MEETS  THE  CHIEFS 

thing.  "And  we'll  tell  the  Otoes  to  forward  him  on 
down  to  St.  Louis.  You  think  they'd  do  it,  do  you?  " 

Captain  Lewis  tapped  uneasily  with  his  foot. 

"  Oh,  pshaw,  Will,"  he  said.  "  We  can't  stop  and 
waste  this  fine  breeze,  even  to  send  back  a  boy.  When 
we  land  for  dinner  will  be  the  proper  time.  We  may 
meet  some  traders,  bound  down,  and  he  can  be  started 
back  with  them,  to  St.  Louis.  Meanwhile  Gass  and 
Shannon  must  take  care  of  him." 

"  He  can  be  sent  down  river  with  the  first  party 
that  take  back  the  dispatches, "proffered  Captain  Clark. 

Patrick  Gass  came  clumping  up  the  deck  and  again 
saluted. 

"  Sergeant  Floyd  wishes  might  he  speak  with  Cap'n 
Clark,  sorrs." 

"How  is  he,  Pat?" 

"  Turrible  weak,  sorr,  but  the  pain  be  not  so  bad." 

"  Go  ahead,  Will,"  bade  Captain  Lewis.  "  You 
enlisted  him.  He  knows  you  better.  If  I  can  do  any- 
thing, call  me." 

The  Red  Hair  Chief  hastened  away.  The  Long 
Knife  Chief  spoke  to  Patrick  Gass. 

"  You'll  take  charge  of  Peter  until  we  send  him 
back,  Patrick.  Draw  on  the  commissary  for  such 
clothes  as  he  needs.  We  can't  have  him  running 
around  naked,  this  way,  if  he's  white." 

"  Yis,  sorr,"  replied  Patrick  Gass.  "  Come,  Peter, 
lad;  come  with  your  cousin  Pat,  an'  we'll  make  your 
outside  as  white  as  your  inside." 

75 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

Peter  gladly  obeyed.  He  was  rather  afraid  of  the 
handsome  young  Long  Knife  Chief,  but  he  was  not 
afraid  of  Patrick  Gass — no,  nor  of  the  Red  Hair. 

When  dressed  in  the  clothes  that  Patrick  found 
for  him,  Peter  was  a  funny  sight.  There  was  a  red 
flannel  shirt — to  Peter  very  beautiful,  but  twice  enough 
for  him,  so  that  the  sleeves  were  rolled  to  their  elbows, 
and  the  neck  dropped  about  his  shoulders.  And  there 
was  a  pair  of  blue  trousers,  also  twice  enough  for  him, 
so  that  the  legs  were  rolled  to  their  knees,  and  the  waist 
was  drawn  up  about  his  chest,  and  the  front  doubled 
across  where  it  was  belted  in. 

"  Niver  you  mind,"  quoth  Patrick,  while  the  'Nited 
States  men  gazed  on  Peter  and  howled  with  merriment. 
"  Sure,  I'm  a  bit  of  a  tailor  an'  if  we  can't  fit  you  with 
cloth  we'll  fit  you  with  leather.  Let  'em  laugh. 
Laughin's  good  for  the  stomick." 

And  Peter  did  not  mind.  These  were  white  people's 
clothes,  and  he  was  proud  to  wear  them,  although  they 
did  seem  queer. 

The  sun  had  passed  the  overhead.  At  some  orders 
the  barge  was  swung  in  for  shore;  the  two  smaller 
boats  followed.  Now  would  he  be  sent  back,  or  left; 
or — what  ?  Landing  was  made  on  the  right-hand  side, 
which  was  the  country  of  the  lowas  and  of  the  Sioux: 
not  a  good  place,  Peter  reflected,  for  him.  But 
scarcely  had  the  barge  tied  up,  and  Peter's  heart  was 
beating  with  anxiety,  when  Captain  Clark  hastily 
emerged  from  the  forecastle ;  another  soldier  trod  close 
behind. 

76 


PETER  MEETS  THE  CHIEFS 

Captain  Clark  went  to  Captain  Lewis;  the  soldier 
proceeded  -slowly,  speaking  to  comrades.  He  arrived 
where  Patrick  was  keeping  friendly  guard  over  Peter. 

"  Charley's  gone,"  he  said,  simply,  his  face  clouded, 
his  voice  broken. 

"  Rest  his  soul  in  pace,"  answered  Patrick.  "  Sure, 
I'm  sorry,  Nat.  Did  he  say  anything?  " 

"  He  knew.  He  asked  the  Captain  to  write  a  letter 
for  him,  to  the  folks  at  home.  After  that  he  went  to 
sleep  and  did  not  wake  again,  here." 

"  Faith,  he  gave  his  life  for  his  country,"  asserted 
Patrick. 

So  the  sick  man  had  died.  This  much  Peter  easily 
guessed.  It  turned  dinner  into  a  very  quiet  affair. 
Nothing  more  was  said  of  leaving  Peter  ashore,  nor  of 
sending  him  back ;  but  as  soon  as  the  dinner  was  finished 
the  boats  all  pushed  out  and  headed  up  river,  along  a 
bank  surmounted  by  rolling  bluffs. 

After  about  a  mile  by  sail  and  oars,  everybody 
landed;  and  the  body  of  Sergeant  Charles  Floyd, 
United  States  Army,  the  first  of  the  expedition  to  fall, 
was  buried  on  the  top  of  a  bluff.  Captain  Clark  read 
some  words  out  of  a  book,  over  the  grave;  and  upon 
the  grave  was  set  a  cedar  post  with  the  name,  Sergt. 
C.  Floyd,  and  the  date,  Aug.  20,  1804,  carved  into  it. 
Then  three  volleys  from  the  rifles  were  fired. 

The  boats  proceeded  on  for  a  camping-place,  which 
was  found  about  a  mile  up,  on  the  right-hand  or  north 
side,  near  the  mouth  of  a  tittle  river.  The  bluff  of  the 

77 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

grave  was  referred  to  as  Floyd's  Bluff,  and  the  little 
river  was  called  Floyd's  River. 

All  the  men,  including  Peter,  felt  sorry  for  Sergeant 
Nathaniel  Pryor.  Floyd  had  been  his  cousin.  They 
felt  sorry  for  those  other  relatives  and  friends,  back 
at  the  Floyd  home  in  Kentucky. 

Fifty  years  later,  or  in  1857,  the  grave  of  the 
sergeant  was  moved  a  few  hundred  feet,  by  the  Sioux 
City,  Iowa,  people,  so  that  it  should  not  crumble  into 
the  Missouri  River;  and  in  1895  a  monument  was 
placed  over  it  To-day  Floyd's  Bluff  is  part  of  a  Sioux 
City  park. 

The  camp  this  evening  was  only  thirteen  miles 
above  the  Omaha  village  and  the  place  where  Chief 
Little  Thief  had  come  in  to  council,  so  that  Peter  very 
easily  might  have  been  sent  back.  But  the  death  of 
Sergeant  Charles  Floyd  seemed  to  be  occupying  the 
thoughts  of  the  two  captains ;  it  made  the  whole  camp 
sober.  To-night  there  was  no  dancing  or  music,  and 
Peter  slept  aboard  the  barge  with  nobody  paying  es- 
pecial attention  to  him.  Of  this  he  was  glad,  because 
he  feared  that,  once  ashore,  he  would  be  left  behind — 
the  'Nited  States  would  try  to  sail  on  without  him. 


IV 

TO  THE  LAND  OF  THE  SIOUX 

"  FUST  we  have  to  pass  the  Sioux  Injuns/'  ex- 
plained Patrick  Gass,  to  Peter.  "  Ye  know  the  Sioux?  " 

"  They  bad,"  nodded  Peter.    "  Fight  other  Injuns." 

"  Yis,"  said  Patrick.  "  But  we  aim  to  make  every- 
body paceful  with  everybody  else.  An'  after  the 
Sioux,  we  talk  with  the  'Rikaras." 

"  'Rees  bad,  too,"  nodded  Peter.  For  the  Otoes 
were  afraid  of  the  northern  tribes. 

"  Yis,"  said  Patrick.  "An1  after  the  'Rikaras  we 
come,  I'm  thinkin',  to  the  Mandans,  an*  by  that  time 
'twill  be  winter,  an'  with  the  Mandans  we'll  stay.  I 
hear  tell  they  have  white  skins  an*  blue  eyes  an*  their 
hair  trails  on  the  ground." 

Sometimes  sailing,  sometimes  rowed,  and  some- 
times towed  by  heavy  ropes  on  which  the  men  hauled, 
from  the  banks,  the  three  boats  had  been  steadily  ad- 
vancing up-river.  Peter  was  feeling  quite  at  home. 
Everybody  was  kind  to  him — especially  Pat,  who  had 
been  elected  sergeant  in  place  of  Charles  Floyd,  and 
young  George  Shannon,  who  was  only  seventeen. 

Two  horses  followed  the  boats,  by  land,  for  the  use 
of  the  hunters.  George  Drouillard,  a  Frenchman,  who 
had  lived  with  the  Omahas,  was  chief  hunter.  At  the 
evening  camps  Pierre  Cruzatte,  a  merry  Frenchman 
with  only  one  eye,  and  a  soldier  by  the  name  of  George 

6  79 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

Gibson,  played  lively  music  on  stringed  boxes  called 
violins.  Each  night  the  two  captains,  and  Pat  and 
other  soldiers,  wrote  on  paper  the  story  of  the  trip. 
York,  the  black  man,  was  Captain  Clark's  servant. 
Early  in  the  morning  a  horn  was  blown  to  arouse  the 
camp.  During  the  days  the  captains  frequently  went 
ashore,  to  explore. 

It  was  well,  thought  Peter,  that  Pierre  Dorion,  a 
trader  who  lived  with  the  Sioux,  was  aboard  the  boats, 
for  the  fierce  Sioux  Indians  did  not  like  strangers. 
Still,  who  could  whip  the  United  States  ? 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  eighth  day  after  leaving 
Chief  Little  Thief,  old  Pierre,  from  where  he  was 
standing  with  the  two  captains  on  the  barge  and  gazing 
right  and  left  and  before,  cried  aloud  and  pointed. 

"Dere  she  is!" 

"What,  Dorion?" 

"  De  Jacques,  w'at  is  also  call  de  Yankton  River ; 
my  people  de  Yankton  Sioux  lif  on  her.  Mebbe  soon 


now  we  see  some." 


The  barge,  flying  its  white  peace  flag,  bordered 
with  red  and  blue,  ploughed  on.  All  eyes  aboard  were 
directed  intently  before.  The  mouth  of  the  river  gradu- 
ally opened,  amidst  the  trees*. 

"We'll  halt  there  for  dinner,"  ordered  Captain 
Lewis.  "  That  looks  like  a  good  landing-place  just 
above  the  mouth,  Will.* 

Captain  Clark  nodded,  and  the  barge  began  to  veer 
in;  the  two  pirogues  or  smaller  boats  imitated. 

80 


TO  THE  LAND  OF  THE  SIOUX 

"I  see  one  Injun/*  said  Peter.  "You  see  him, 
Pat?" 

"  Where,  now?  "  invited  Patrick  Gass. 

"  He  is  standing  still ;  watch  us,  this  side  of  Yank- 
ton  River." 

"  Faith,  you've  sharp  eyes,"  praised  Pat,  squinting. 
"  Yis,  sure  I  see  him,  by  the  big  tree  just  above  the 
rnouth." 

Others  saw  him.  And  as  the  barge  hove  to,  and 
led  by  Captain  Clark  the  men  leaped  for  the  shore,  to 
cook  dinner,  the  Indian  plunged  into  the  water  and 
swam  across. 

'  'Maha !  *  quoth  Peter,  quickly,  when,  dripping, 
the  Indian  had  plashed  out  and  was  boldly  entering  the 
camp. 

"  Oh,  is  he,  now  ?  "  murmured  Patrick  Gass. 

Pierre  Dorion  translated  for  him,  to  the  captains. 
He  said  that  he  was  an  Omaha  boy,  living  with  the 
Sioux.  While  he  was  talking,  two  other  Indians  came 
in.  They  indeed  were  Sioux — straight,  dark,  and  dig- 
nified, as  befitted  members  of  a  great  and  powerful 
nation. 

"  Dey  say  de  Yanktons,  many  of  dem,  are  camp' 
to  de  west,  one  short  travel,"  interpreted  Dorion.  "  Dey 
haf  hear  of  our  comin',  an'  will  be  please*  to  meet  de 
white  chiefs." 

"All  right,  Dorion.  You  go  to  the  camp  with  these 
fellows,  and  tell  the  chiefs  that  we'll  hold  council  at 
the  river.  I'll  send  Sergeant  Pryor  and  another  man 

81 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

along  with  you/'  instructed  Captain  Lewis.  "  You'll 
find  us  again  about  opposite  where  their  camp  is." 

"  Good,"  approved  Pierre  Dorion.  "  Now  mebbe 
I  get  my  wife  an'  fam'ly  one  time  more.  My  son,  he 
dere,  too,  say  dese  young  men."  For  Pierre  had 
married  a  Sioux  woman. 

The  two  Sioux,  and  Pierre,  and  Sergeant  Nathaniel 
Pryor  and  Private  John  Potts  left  on  foot  for  the 
camp  of  the  Yanktons;  but  the  Omaha  boy  stayed. 
Peter  preferred  to  keep  away  from  him.  The  Omahas, 
to  him,  were  not  to  be  trusted. 

From  the  mouth  of  the  Yankton  River,  which  is 
to-day  called  the  James  River  of  South  Dakota,  the 
boats  continued  on  up  the  Missouri,  to  the  council 
ground.  The  red  pirogue  ran  upon  a  snag,  so  that  it 
almost  sank  before  it  could  be  beached.  Then  all  the 
goods  had  to  be  transferred  to  the  white  pirogue.  This 
took  time,  and  it  was  not  until  nearly  sunset  that 
Captain  Lewis  ordered  landing  to  be  made  and  camp 
pitched. 

The  camp  of  the  Sioux  was  supposed  to  be  some- 
where across  the  river.  In  the  morning  no  Sioux  had 
yet  appeared  for  council,  and  Captain  Lewis  anxiously 
swept  the  country  to  the  north  with  his  spy-glass.  How- 
ever, Indians  could  not  be  hurried,  as  Peter  well  knew. 
But  about  four  o'clock  there  spread  a  murmur. 

"Here  they  come!" 

"  De  Sioux !  Dey  come.  Now  for  beeg  talk  an* 
beeg  dance !  Hoo-zah !  " 


TO  THE  LAND  OF  THE  SIOUX 

"  Oui ! "  added  George  Drouillard,  the  hunter. 
"  Mebbe  fat  dog  feast,  too !  " 

"  Oh,  murther !  "  gasped  Pat.  And,  to  Peter :  "  Did 
ye  ever  eat  dog,  Peter  ?  " 

Peter  shook  his  head,  disgusted.  Not  he;  nor  the 
Otoes,  either.  Only  the  northern  Indians  ate  dog. 

"  There's  a  t'arin'  lot  of  'em,  anyhow,"  mused 
Patrick  Gass.  "  I'm  after  wishin'  George  was  here. 
Sure,  he's  like  to  get  into  trouble,  wanderin'  about  the 
country  where  all  those  fellows  are." 

For  two  days  back  George  Shannon  had  been  sent 
out  to  find  the  horses  that  had  strayed  from  camp,  and 
he  had  not  returned. 

The  Sioux  made  a  brave  sight  indeed.  They 
looked  to  be  almost  a  hundred — ahorse  and  afoot,  with 
gay  streamers  and  blankets  flying.  Pierre  Dorion  and 
Sergeant  Pryor  and  Private  Potts  were  to  be  seen, 
mounted  and  riding  with  the  principal  chiefs  in  the 
advance.  So  evidently  everything  was  all  right. 

They  halted  on  the  bank  opposite  the  United  States 
camp.  Sergeant  Pryor  waved  his  hat,  and  the  captains 
send  the  red  pirogue  across  for  him.  He  and  Pierre 
and  Private  Potts  returned  in  it.  They  brought  -with 
them  young  Pierre,  who  was  old  Pierre's  son.  He  was 
half  Sioux,  and  traded  among  the  Tetons;  but  just 
now  he  was  visiting  among  the  Yanktons. 

"  They  are  friendly,  are  they,  Sergeant  ?  "  inquired 
Captain  Lewis. 

"  Yes,  sir.    They  treated  us  very  handsomely,  and 

88 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

the  head  chief  is  yonder,  waiting  to  talk  with  you," 
informed  Sergeant  Pry  or. 

"  Very  good.  You  and  young  Dorion  go  back  to 
them — we'd  better  send  along  some  presents,  hadn't  we, 
Will? — and  tell  the  chiefs  that  we'll  speak  with  them 
in  the  morning.  Twon't  do  to  let  them  think  we're 
in  any  more  of  a  hurry  than  they  are/' 

"  Yes,  sir,"  answered  Sergeant  Pryor. 

He  took  over  presents  of  corn  and  tobacco 
and  iron  kettles,  with  young  Pierre  to  do  the  trans- 
lating for  him,  and  returned.  Both  camps  settled 
down  for  the  night. 

"  Did  yez  have  a  rale  good  time  with  the  Sioux, 
Nat  ?  "  queried  Patrick  Gass,  that  night  around  the 
fire,  after  a  hearty  supper  on  cat-fish.  During  the  day  a 
number  of  huge  cat-fish  had  been  caught,  some  of  them 
weighing  sixty  pounds.  Now  all  the  men  were  curious 
to  hear  more  from  Nat  Pryor  and  John  Potts. 

"  Tremendous,"  declared  Nat.  "  They  wanted  to 
carry  us  into  camp  in  a  blanket,  but  we  told  'em  we 
were  not  chiefs.  They  could  wait  and  carry  the  cap- 
tains. They  gave  us  a  fat  dog,  though,  boiled  in  a 
pot — and  I  swear  he  was  good  eating." 

"  None  for  me,  thank  ye,"  retorted  Sergeant  Pat. 
"An'  how  far  is  their  camp,  an'  what  kind  is  it?  " 

"  It's  about  nine  miles  back,  near  the  Jacques.  All 
fine  buffalo  hide  lodges — some  elk  hide,  too — painted 
different  colors.  Fact  is,  they're  about  the  best  Indians 

we've  met  yet" 

84 


TO  THE  LAND  OF  THE  SIOUX 

"  Ye  didn't  learn  anything  of  Shannon  or  the 
horses,  then?  " 

"  Not  a  word.  But  I  think  he'll  be  safe  if  only  the 
Sioux  find  him." 

The  next  day  dawned  so  foggy  that  nobody  could 
see  across  the  river.  The  captains  made  preparations 
for  the  grand  council.  A  pole  was  set  up,  near  to  a 
large  oak  tree,  and  a  new  flag  hoisted  to  the  top  of  it. 
The  flag  was  striped  red  and  white ;  in  a  corner  was  a 
blue  square,  like  the  sky,  studded  with  stars.  'Twas  the 
great  flag  of  the  United  States  nation — and  Peter 
thought  it  beautiful. 

The  two  captains  dressed  in  their  best.  Captain 
Lewis  wore  a  long  coat  of  dark  blue  trimmed  with 
light  blue,  down  its  front  bright  brass  buttons,  and  on 
its  shoulders  bright  gold- fringed  epaulets.  Captain 
Clark's  coat  was  dark  blue  faced  with  red ;  it,  too,  had 
the  brass  buttons  and  the  bright  epaulets.  Both  wore 
their  cocked  hats,  and  their  long  knives,  or  swords. 

The  men  also  were  ordered  to  put  on  their  best, 
and  to  clean  up  even  if  they  had  no  "  best."  Presents 
were  laid  out.  By  the  time  the  fog  lifted,  at  eight 
o'clock,  the  camp  was  ready. 

Now  it  could  be  seen  that  over  in  the  Sioux  camp, 
also,  the  chiefs  and  warriors  were  preparing. 

"  They're  painting  and  polishing,  Merne,"  remarked 
Captain  Clark,  who  had  levelled  the  spy-glass,  to  peer. 

That  was  so.  Peter  needed  no  spy-glass.  He  could 
make  out  figures  of  the  chiefs  and  warriors  sitting  and 

85 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

plaiting  their  hair  and  painting  their  faces  and  chests 
and  arms. 

The  two  captains  waited  until  nearly  noon.  Then 
the  red  pirogue  was  dispatched,  under  Sergeant  Pryor, 
accompanied  by  old  Pierre,  to  bring  the  chiefs  and 
warriors.  The  white  pirogue  was  loaded  with  goods, 
but  the  red  pirogue  had  been  emptied  for  repairs.  Even 
then  the  Sioux  so  crowded  it  that  it  scarcely  could  be 
rowed.  A  number  of  the  young  Sioux  waded  into  the 
river  and  swam  across. 

Now  there  were  more  Sioux  than  white  men  in  the 
United  States  camp.  But  they  were  armed  mainly  with 
bows  and  arrows,  while  the  United  States  were  armed 
with  rifles;  and  Peter's  sharp  eyes  observed  that  the 
cannon  in  the  bow  of  the  barge  was  pointed  right  at  the 
camp,  ready  for  business. 

Broad-chested  and  sinewy  were  these  Yankton 
Sioux,  and  evidently  great  warriors.  What  struck 
Peter  and  the  soldiers,  especially,  were  the  necklaces 
of  claws  stitched  in  bands  of  buckskin  or  red  flannel, 
and  hanging  low  on  those  broad  chests.  Many  war- 
riors wore  them. 

"  D'  you  mean  to  say  those  are  b'ar  claws !  "  ex- 
claimed John  Shields,  one  of  the  Kentuckians. 

"  Oui,  my  frien',"  assured  Drouillard,  the  hunter. 
"  Dey  claw  of  great  white  bear — so  we  call  heem. 
Beeg!  More  beeg  dan  one  ox.  An'  'fraid?  He  not 
'fraid  of  netting.  To  keel  one  white  bear  make  Injun 
beeg  warrior." 


TO  THE  LAND  OF  THE  SIOUX 

"And  where  do  those  critters  live,  then?"  queried 
John. 

"  Up  river.  We  meet  'em  pret'  queeck,  now.  Some- 
time w'en  we  land — woof!  Dere  coom  one  beast — 
beeg  as  one  ox — mouth  he  open;  an*  mebbe  eat  us,  if 
brush  so  t'ick  we  not  see  heem  soon  'nough." 

The  listening  Kentuckians  and  other  soldiers 
scratched  their  heads,  as  if  a  little  doubtful. 

"  Faith,"  said  Patrick  Gass,  "  some  o'  them  claws 
are  six  inches  long,  boys.  'Tis  a  country  o'  monsters 
that  we're  goin'  into." 

A  group  of  the  Sioux  had  been  staring  at  black 
York,  who,  larger  than  any  of  them,  was  gaping  back. 
Suddenly  one  stepped  to  him,  wet  his  finger  and 
swiftly  drew  it  down  York's  cheek;  then  looked  to  see 
if  the  black  had  come  off. 

"Hey,  you  man!"  growled  York.  "  Wha'  foh 
you  done  do  dat?  " 

Another  Sioux  deftly  snatched  off  York's  hat,  and 
clutched  the  black  curly  wool  underneath ;  but  it  would 
not  come  off,  either.  Much  impressed,  the  circle 
widened  respectfully,  and  Sioux  murmured  gutturally 
to  Sioux. 

"  That's  all  right,  York,"  warned  Captain  Clark, 
who  had  noted;  for  his  own  red  hair  had  been 
attracting  much  attention.  "  They  say  you're  great 
medicine." 

"  Oui ;  he  black  buffalo,"  affirmed  young  Dorion. 
.  After  that  York  strutted  importantly,  alarmed  the 

87 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

Indians  by  making  fierce  faces,  and  was  followed  about 
by  a  constant  admiring  procession. 

The  council  was  held  at  noon,  under  the  great  oak 
tree  beside  which  floated  the  United  States  flag.  The 
chiefs  and  the  leading  warriors  sat  in  a  half  circle; 
the  two  captains  sat  facing  them,  Pierre  Dorion  stood 
before  them  as  interpreter;  and  the  soldiers  and  French 
boatmen  sat  behind  in  another  half  circle. 

Captain  Lewis  made  a  welcoming  speech — and  a 
fine  figure  he  was,  standing  straight  and  slim,  in  his 
tight-fitting,  decorated  coat,  his  cocked  hat  with  black 
feather,  his  sword  at  his  side. 

"  The  land  has  changed  white  fathers,"  he  said. 
"  The  great  nation  of  the  Sioux,  and  all  the  other 
Indians,  have  a  new  white  father,  at  Washington. 
That  is  his  flag,  the  flag  of  the  United  States  nation, 
which  has  bought  this  country.  The  new  father  has 
sent  us,  who  are  his  children,  to  tell  his  red  children 
that  he  wants  them  to  be  at  peace  with  one  another.  I 
have  given  flags  and  peace  gifts  to  the  Otoes  and  the 
Missouris,  and  have  sent  word  to  the  Osages  and  the 
Omahas  and  the  Pawnees  and  the  Kickapoos  and  other 
Indians,  that  there  must  be  no  more  wars  among  the 
red  children.  I  will  give  you  a  flag  and  gifts,  too,  so 
that  you  will  remember  what  I  say." 

Then  the  gifts  were  distributed.  To  the  head  chief, 
Weucha,  or  Shake  Hand,  a  flag,  and  a  first-grade 
silver  medal,  and  a  paper  that  certified  the  United 
States  recognized  him  as  the  head  chief,  and  a  string 


TO  THE  LAND  OF  THE  SIOUX 

of  beads  and  shells,  and  a  "  chief's  coat/'  which  was  a 
red-trimmed  artillery  dress-coat  like  Captain  Clark's, 
and  a  cocked  hat  with  red  feather  in  it.  Weucha  was 
immensely  pleased ;  he  put  on  the  coat  and  hat  at  once. 

The  four  other  chiefs  also  were  given  gifts.  Chief 
Weucha  produced  a  long  peace-pipe  of  red  stone,  with 
reed  stem ;  it  was  lighted,  he  puffed,  Captain  Lewis  and 
Captain  Clark  puffed;  the  four  lesser  chiefs  puffed. 
After  that  the  chiefs  solemnly  shook  hands  with  the 
captains,  and  withdrew  into  a  lean-to  of  branches,  to 
consult  on  what  they  should  reply  to-morrow. 

The  Sioux  stayed  at  the  camp  during  the  after- 
noon. The  captains  gave  them  a  dressed  deer-hide  and 
an  empty  keg,  for  a  dance  drum.  The  deer-hide  was 
stretched  taut  over  the  head  of  the  keg ;  and  that  night, 
by  the  light  of  the  fires,  the  Sioux  thumped  on  the 
drum  and  shook  their  rattles,  and  danced.  One-eyed 
Cruzatte  and  George  Gibson  played  on  their  violins, 
and  the  United  States  warriors  danced.  But  the  Sioux 
kept  it  up  almost  all  night,  and  nobody  got  much  sleep. 

In  the  morning  after  breakfast  Weucha  and  his 
three  sub-chiefs  sat  before  the  oak  tree;  each  held  a 
peace  pipe  in  front  of  him,  with  the  stem  pointing  at 
the  spot  where  the  captains  were  to  sit.  The  names  of 
the  other  chiefs  were  White  Crane,  S truck-by- the- 
Pawnee,  and  Half  Man. 

"  He  ver'  modes',"  explained  One-eyed  Cruzatte. 
"  He  say  '  I  am  no  warrior,  I  only  half  a  man.'  " 

Weucha  spoke  first,  standing  clad  in  his  artillery 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

coat  and  cocked  hat.  He  said  that  the  Yanktons  were 
willing  to  be  at  peace,  but  were  very  poor. 

White  Crane,  and  Struck-by-the-Pawnee  and  Half 
Man  likewise  spoke.  They  agreed  with  what  Shake 
Hand  had  said.  They  wanted  powder  and  ball,  and, 
their  great  father's  "  milk  " — which  was  whisky. 

That  evening  the  Sioux  went  back,  across  the  river, 
well  satisfied.  Pierre  Dorion  and  young  Pierre  went 
with  them.  Old  Pierre  promised  that  in  the  spring 
he  would  take  some  of  the  chiefs  to  Washington,  that 
they  might  meet  their  new  father. 

Just  as  the  Yanktons  were  leaving,  Captain  Lewis 
beckoned  Peter  to  him. 

;<  You  had  better  go  with  Pierre.  He  will  take  you 
down  river  in  the  spring,  if  not  before." 

"  No,  please,"  objected  Peter.    "  I  rather  stay." 

"  But  we're  going  clear  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  my 
boy/'  spoke  Captain  Clark.  "  It  will  be  a  hard  trip." 

"  I  will  go,  too,"  declared  Peter.  "  Do  not  want 
to  stay  with  Sioux.  I  am  white." 

"  What  will  you  do,  along  with  us,  Peter  ?  " 

"  I  work.  I  can  talk  sign  language,"  answered 
Peter,  proudly. 

"  There's  something  in  that,  Merne,"  laughed  Cap- 
tain Clark.  "  Now  with  Dorion  gone  we'll  need  an 
interpreter  to  help  Drouillard.  I  fancy  Peter  knows 
almost  as  much  as  he  does." 

"  You've  got  a  kind  heart,  Will,"  replied  Captain 
Lewis,  his  eyes  softening.  "  But  game's  plenty;  we'll 

00 


TO  THE  LAND  OF  THE  SIOUX 

have  meat  enough — and  that's  the  main  question.  All 
right,  Peter.  You  can  come  as  far  as  the  Mandan 
village,  anyway.  And  in  the  spring  we'll  see." 

Whereupon  Peter  resolved  that  he  would  make 
himself  useful,  so  that  they  would  take  him  clear  to 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  which  lay,  according  to  Patrick  Gass 
and  the  other  men,  many,  many  days'  travel,  far  beyond 
the  western  mountains. 


V 

BAD  HEARTS 

WORK,  work,  work!  Through  this  the  month  of 
September,  1804,  the  boats  had  been  toiling  on  up  the 
sluggish  Missouri  River,  in  the  present  State  of  South 
Dakota.  With  the  rains,  the  winds,  and  the  shallows, 
everybody,  even  the  captains,  was  wet  all  the  day, 
from  hauling  on  the  tow-ropes,  in  and  out  of  the  water. 

The  weather  turned  cold  and  raw.  Shelters  of 
deer  hides  were  stretched  over  the  two  pirogues,  and 
in  the  camps  the  men  made  themselves  hide  coats  and 
leggins  and  moccasins.  Patrick  and  old  Cruzatte  to- 
gether fitted  Peter  with  a  buckskin  suit  that  felt  much 
better  to  him  than  his  other,  clumsy  garments. 

After  having  been  gone  over  two  weeks,  George 
Shannon  appeared  at  last,  riding  through  the  rain,  with 
only  one  horse.  He  had  been  lost,  and  had  almost 
starved,  and  the  other  horse  had  broken  down.  All 
were  glad  to  see  George  again. 

But  where,  now,  were  the  Teton  Sioux?  George 
reported  that  he  had  seen  none. 

The  last  week  in  September  a  great  smoke  was 
sighted  in  the  distance;  and  that  night  three  Indian 
boys  swam  the  river,  to  enter  the  camp.  They  were 
Tetons,  from  two  villages  a  few  miles  above. 

"  Give  them  some  tobacco,"  directed  Captain  Lewis. 

92 


BAD  HEARTS 

'  Tell  them  to  say  to  their  chiefs  that  we  will  hold  a 
council  to-morrow  morning,  near  the  villages." 

On  the  way  up,  Reuben  Fields,  who  had  been 
hunting,  horseback,  returned  afoot  and  signalled  to  be 
taken  aboard.  He  said  that  some  Indians  had  stolen 
his  horse  while  he  was  dressing  an  elk. 

"  Oui,"  chirped  Drouillard.  "  Dose  Tetons  haf  bad 
hearts.  We  best  look  sharp  or  dey  take  scalps,  too." 

"  We  mustn't  let  them  have  the  idea  they  can 
plunder  us,"  spoke  Captain  Lewis,  reddening.  "  This 
leaves  us  without  horses." 

"Aren't  those  several  Indians,  on  the  bank  ahead?  " 
presently  queried  Captain  Clark. 

Captain  Lewis  peered  through  his  spy-glass. 

"  Five  of  them.  We'll  stop  and  hail  them,  and 
hear  what  they  have  to  say." 

"  Do  you  think  they're  the  fellows  who  stole  your 
horse,  Fields?"  asked  Captain  Clark. 

"  I  can't  tell,  sir,"  answered  Reuben.  "  I  had  only 
a  glimpse  of  the  thieves,  and  these  Injuns  mainly  look 
alike,  sir,  till  you  get  to  know  Jem." 

The  five  Indians  on  the  bank  stolidly  waited,  while 
the  barge  hove  to,  opposite. 

"Are  they  Tetons,  Drouillard?"  inquired  Captain 
Lewis. 

"  Oui,"  nodded  Drouillard.  "  Dey  Tetons.  Eh, 
Cruzatte  ?  " 

"  Mais,  oui,"  confirmed  One-eyed  Cruzatte,  "  Beeg 
rascals." 

93 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

"All  right.  Tell  them  that  some  of  their  young 
men  have  stolen  a  horse  from  their  great  father  at 
Washington,  and  we  want  it  returned  or  we  will  hold 
no  council.  We're  willing  to  be  friends,  but  we  aren't 
afraid  of  them." 

"  I  do  not  know  much  of  dees  Sioux  tongue,  but  I 
will  try,"  engaged  Drouillard.  And  by  signs  and  a 
few  words  he  delivered  the  message. 

The  Indians  consulted  a  moment  together;  then 
one  of  them  replied. 

"  I  t'ink  dey  say  dey  haf  not  seen  a  hoss,"  translated 
Drouillard.  "  But  if  it  is  found  it  will  be  return'." 

"I  t'ink  so,  too,"  added  the  funny  Cruzatte — 
although  everybody  was  aware  that  he  did  not  under- 
stand a  word  of  Sioux. 

However,  by  the  signs  that  were  made,  Peter  would 
have  interpreted  the  same  as  Drouillard.  He  and  the 
Otoboys  had  practiced  for  hours,  talking  sign  language. 

The  boats  stopped  for  the  night  off  the  mouth  of 
a  river  on  the  left  or  the  south.  This  night  only  a 
few  men  were  allowed  ashore,  to  guard  the  cook  fires ; 
the  remainder  slept  aboard  the  boats,  with  their  guns 
ready.  The  captains  named  the  river  Teton  River, 
but  it  was  soon  renamed  Bad  River,  for  very  good 
reason. 

In  the  morning  everybody,  except  the  boat  guards, 
landed.  The  captains  ordered  the  United  States  flag 
hoisted,  again,  on  a  pole,  and  the  awning  was  stretched, 
as  at  the  camp  where  the  Otoes  had  been  entertained. 

94 


BAD  HEARTS 

All  the  soldiers  ashore  were  formed  in  rank,  under 
arms,  facing  the  flag-pole  and  the  canopy;  and  soon 
the  Tetons  came  in  to  council,  from  their  village  two 
miles  up-river. 

There  were  about  sixty  of  them.  They  were  not 
nearly  so  good-looking  as  the  Yanktons,  being  smaller, 
with  slim  crooked  legs  and  lean  arms,  and  eyes  set  over 
high  cheek-bones. 

The  council  did  not  pass  off  very  satisfactorily, 
because  Drouillard  knew  little  Teton  talk,  and  scarcely 
could  make  himself  understood  when  he  talked  for 
Captain  Lewis.  Still,  the  head  chief,  Black  Buffalo, 
was  given  a  medal,  and  a  United  States  flag,  and  a  red 
coat  decorated  with  white  lace,  and  a  cocked  hat  with 
red  feather.  The  second  chief,  Tor-to-hon-ga  or  Par- 
tisan, and  the  third  chief,  Buffalo  Medicine,  were  given 
medals  and  beads  and  tobacco.  Two  warriors,  Wah- 
zing-go,  and  Mat-o-co-que-pa  or  Second  Bear,  also 
were  rewarded. 

"  What  do  you  suppose  those  raven  scalps  signify?  " 
asked  George  Shannon.  For  the  two  warriors  wore 
each  two  or  three  raven  skins  fastened  to  their  waists 
behind,  with  the  tails  sticking  out,  and  on  their  heads 
was  another  raven  skin,  flattened  with  the  beak  to  the 
fore. 

"  Dey  special  soldier,"  explained  old  Cruzatte. 
"Wat  you  call — marshal.  Oui.  Dey  boss.  Obey 
nobody  but  chief." 

Then  the  captains  took  them  all  aboard  the  barge 

7  95 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

to  show  them  the  cannon  and  the  air-gun  that  shot 
forty  times,  and  other  wonders.  Captain  Clark 
brought  them  ashore  again  in  the  red  pirogue. 

No  sooner  had  the  cable  been  carried  on  shore,  to 
be  held  by  Patrick  Gass  and  Reuben  Fields  and  George 
Shannon  while  the  load  was  landed,  and  Captain  Clark 
had  stepped  out,  than  three  of  the  Indians  grabbed  it, 
and  Wah-zing-go,  the  warrior,  put  his  arms  about  the 
mast,  as  if  to  keep  the  boat  there.  Tor-to-hon-ga  began 
to  talk  in  a  loud  and  angry  voice.  Captain  Clark 
flushed. 

"What  does  he  say,  Peter?"  he  appealed.  For 
Drouillard  was  on  the  barge,  and  only  Peter  was  near. 
When  the  five  men  had  started  to  row  the  pirogue 
ashore,  with  the  chiefs  and  Captain  Clark,  he  had 
slipped  in,  too. 

"  The  chief  say  you  cannot  go  away  till  you  give 
them  more  presents,"  translated  Peter,  boldly;  for  he 
had  picked  up  some  Sioux  words  and  he  could  read 
the  gestures,  also. 

"  What !  "  And  Captain  Clark  was  angry  indeed. 
He  had  only  five  men,  two  in  the  boat  and  three  ashore, 
but  he  was  not  afraid.  !(  You  tell  him  we  will  go  on, 
and  he  can't  stop  us.  We  are  not  squaws,  but  warriors. 
Our  great  father  has  medicine  on  those  boats  that  will 
wipe  out  twenty  Sioux  nations." 

"  The  chief  says  he  has  plenty  warriors,  too,"  in- 
terpreted Peter. 

And  at  that  moment  the  chief  sprang  for  Captain 


BAD  HEARTS 

Clark ;  the  warriors  spread  right  and  left,  jerked  arrows 
from  quivers  and  fitted  them  to  strung  bows.  Out 
whipped  Captain  Clark's  bright  sword — the  long  knife; 
and  Chief  Tor-to-hon-ga  dodged.  Captain  Clark's  face 
was  redder  than  his  hair.  He  acted  like  a  great  chief. 

"  Watch  out,  Sergeant !  "  he  cried,  to  Patrick  Gass. 
"  Rally  on  the  boat ;  never  mind  the  rope.  Face  them 
and  stand  together,  men !  " 

Captain  Lewie's  voice  rang  high  and  stern,  from 
the  barge.  Out  of  the  white  pirogue  a  dozen  men 
plashed  into  the  shallows  and  wading  and  plunging, 
hastened  to  reinforce  the  red  pirogue.  Corporal  War- 
fington  and  the  six  St.  Louis  soldiers  who  had  been 
sent  along  to  help  as  far  as  the  Mandans  were  with 
them. 

"  Steady !  "  warned  Captain  Lewis.  "  Look  sharp, 
Will."  And  now  the  black  muzzle  of  the  cannon  in  the 
bows  of  the  barge  swung  full  at  the  shore.  Behind 
it  stood  Gunner  Alexander  Willard,  with  lighted 
match. 

This  was  enough.  Head  Chief  Black  Buffalo 
shouted  an  order,  and  his  men  left  the  cable  and  the 
pirogue  and  fell  back.  The  "  medicine  "of  the  great 
father  at  Washington  was,  they  realized,  strong 
medicine. 

To  show  that  he  was  not  afraid,  and  that  he  wished 
to  be  friendly,  Captain  Clark  offered  to  shake  hands 
with  Black  Buffalo  and  Partisan;  but  they  surlily  re- 
fused. So  the  captain  laughed,  and  ordered  the  red 

97 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

pirogue  to  return  to  the  barge.  Then  Black  Buffalo 
and  Partisan,  and  the  warriors  Wah-zing-go  and 
Second  Bear  ran  after,  through  the  water,  and  climbed 
aboard,  to  go  on  the  barge  also. 

"  Rather  a  close  shave,  Will,"  remarked  Captain 
Lewis.  "An  instant  more  and  I'd  have  helped  you  out 
with  a  round  of  grape." 

"  They  wished  to  try  our  metal,"  smiled  Captain 
Clark. 

"  We  were  afraid  the  white  chiefs  would  go  on  and 
not  stop  at  our  village  to  show  our  squaws  and  boys  the 
great  father's  boats,"  alleged  Chief  Black  Buffalo. 

"  Tell  him  we  are  willing  to  be  friends,  and  will 
stop,"  directed  Captain  Lewis.  "  The  soldiers  of  the 
great  father  do  not  fear  the  Sioux." 

"If  head  chief  he  not  tell  dat  raven  soldier  to  let 
go  mast,  he  hang  on  till  cut  in  leetle  pieces,"  was  saying 
Cruzatte. 

In  the  morning  the  boats  were  moved  up  to  the 
village,  and  Captain  Lewis  went  ashore.  Truly,  the 
Red  Head  and  the  slim  Captain  Lewis  were  brave  men. 
Peter  was  proud  to  have  been  by  Captain  Clark's  side, 
in  the  fracas.  It  was  fine  to  be  a  United  States. 

When  Captain  Lewis  returned  on  board,  he  told 
Captain  Clark  that  everything  was  all  right,  and  that 
the  Tetons  were  waiting  for  the  Red  Head. 

"  You're  a  bigger  man  than  I  am,  Will,  after  the 
stand  you  made  yesterday,"  he  laughed. 

And  it  seemed  to  be  that  way,  for  when  Captain 


BAD  HEARTS 

Clark  landed  he  was  met  by  ten  young  warriors,  with 
a  gaily  decorated  buffalo  robe.  They  carried  him  upon 
it,  and  then  bore  him,  sitting  in  it,  to  the  council  house. 
This  was  great  honor. 

"  You're  nixt,  Cap'n,"  ventured  Patrick  Gass. 
"  There  they  are,  back  for  ye,  sorr." 

"Be  alert,  Sergeant,"  bade  the  captain,  as  he  vaulted 
from  the  barge  into  the  pirogue.  :t  They  may  appear 
friendly,  but  we  mustn't  take  any  chances.  Don't  let 
the  men  lay  aside  their  arms  for  a  minute,  and  keep 
them  together." 

"  Yis,  sorr.  I  will,  sorr,"  promised  Patrick  Gass. 
He  was  the  oldest  soldier  in  the  company,  and  the 
captains  relied  upon  him. 

Captain  Lewis  likewise  was  borne  to  the  council 
house ;  and  the  men  of  the  expedition,  except  the  boat 
guards,  marched  after. 

The  council  lasted  a  long  time,  and  was  concluded 
with  a  feast  of  the  dog-meat  from  a  pot,  and  of  buffalo 
meat  and  hominy  and  ground-potato.  Buffalo  meat 
was  given  to  the  white  chiefs  as  a  present.  The  Tetons 
claimed  to  be  poor,  but  they  weren't.  This  was  a  power- 
ful and  rich  village,  as  anybody  might  see.  Before  the 
dance  that  had  been  planned  for  the  evening,  the  men 
were  permitted  to  roam  about  a  little.  Peter  and  Patrick 
Gass  and  their  party  discovered  a  string  of  scalps  hang- 
ing from  a  pole,  and  a  number  of  Omaha  squaws  and 
children  who  appeared  very  miserable. 

Peter  talked  with  them  a  little.     They  were  pra- 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

oners.  The  Tetons  had  attacked  their  village  down  the 
river,  and  had  burned  forty  lodges  and  killed  seventy- 
five  warriors. 

When  dusk  fell  the  dance  was  started,  by  the 
light  of  a  fire,  in  the  middle  of  the  council  house.  The 
Sioux  warriors  danced,  and  the  Sioux  women  danced ; 
but  at  midnight  the  captains  told  the  chief  that  every- 
body was  tired  and  it  was  time  to  go  to  bed. 

"  The  chief  he  say :  '  Ver'  well.  Now  sleep.  To- 
morrow more  Sioux  come,  to  talk  with  de  great  father.' 
He  want  you  to  stay,"  interpreted  Drouillard. 

"  We  will  stay  and  see  these  other  Sioux,"  answered 
Captain  Lewis.  "  What  do  you  think,  Will?  " 

"  If  you  say  so,  Merne,"  replied  Captain  Clark. 
"  But  there's  some  trick  in  this.  We  mustn't  be  caught 
off  guard — and  of  course  we  mustn't  show  that  we're 
afraid,  either." 

But  no  visiting  Sioux  turned  up,  although  the  boats 
waited  all  day.  At  night  another  dance  was  given. 

"We  in  bad  feex/'  asserted  One-eyed  Cruzatte. 
"  Dose  Teton,  dey  keep  us.  I  t'ink  dey  plan  mischief. 
I  wish  we  go  on." 

Everybody  was  nervous. 

"  Now  I  wonder  if  we're  in  for  a  fight,"  spoke 
Corporal  Warfington. 

"  Sure,"  said  Patrick  Gass,  "  we  can  lick  'em/' 

Amidst  the  dusk  ashore,  while  Peter,  tired  of  the 
noise  and  dancing,  was  wandering  a  few  steps,  a  low 
voice  hailed  him,  in  Oto 

100 


BAD  HEARTS,  ,, , 

"Hist!    You  Oto?"     It  was  one  pf -th 
squaws.    How  could  she  have  gue'ssed  that  he*  had  been 
an  Oto  ? 

"  No.    White,"  responded  Peter. 

"  Tell  your  chiefs  the  Sioux  are  bad.    They  will  not 
let  the  big  boats  go.    They  play  you  a  trick." 

"  I  will  tell,"  responded  Peter.     "  You  speak  Oto 
well." 

"  I  am  Omaha,  but  I  was  in  Oto  village  once.    I 
saw  you."    And  the  squaw  vanished. 


VI 

THE  CAPTAINS  SHOW  THEIR  SPUNK 

PETER  believed  that  the  Omaha  woman  spoke  the 
truth.  The  captains  ought  to  be  told  at  once.  But  the 
dancing  was  still  in  progress  in  the  lodge  of  Chief  Black 
Buffalo,  where  sat  the  two  captains  and  the  chiefs, 
watching.  A  boy  would  not  be  admitted.  So  Peter 
sought  out  Sergeant  John  Ordway,  who  was  in  charge 
of  the  shore  guard.  John  Ordway  was  not  from  Ken- 
tucky ;  he  was  from  a  place  called  New  Hampshire,  in 
the  northeast  of  the  United  States. 

"  You  don't  say !  "  replied  John  Ordway,  when 
Peter  had  told  him  of  the  warning  from  the  Omaha 
woman.  "  Well,  anybody  might  suspect  as  much.  I'll 
get  word  to  the  captains,  first  chance." 

The  dancing  continued  until  late,  again.  Peter 
curled  in  the  bows  of  the  waiting  pirogue,  and  went  to 
sleep.  He  had  done  his  duty  and  could  trust  to  John 
Ordway.  By  the  stars  it  was  midnight  when  he  awak- 
ened at  the  approach  of  the  captains.  They  and  two 
Indian  guests  and  the  guard  clambered  in,  and  the 
pirogue  was  rowed  for  the  barge. 

The  shore  was  silent  and  dark — but  how  alert  were 
those  Sioux!  The  pirogue  ran  against  the  anchor 
cable  of  the  barge,  in  the  darkness,  and  broke  it.  The 

102 


THE  CAPTAINS  SHOW  THEIR  SPUNK 

barge  was  adrift.  The  captains  cried  loudly,  ordering 
the  oars  to  be  manned  and  the  barge  held  until  a  cable 
could  be  passed  ashore — and  instantly  the  two  Indians 
in  the  pirogue  shouted  excitedly,  in  the  Sioux  tongue, 
summoning  the  village. 

"Here!  Quick!"  they  called.  "To  the  boats! 
Come!" 

The  whole  village  burst  into  an  uproar;  the  war- 
riors poured  forth  to  the  water's  edge.  It  was  very 
plain  that  they  feared  the  white  men  were  leaving.  The 
captains  could  pay  little  attention  until  a  cable  had  been 
carried  from  the  barge  and  fastened  to  a  tree  on  the 
bank,  and  the  barge  pulled  in  out  of  the  current. 
Then 

"Ask  Tor-to-hon-ga  what's  the  meaning  of  all  this 
alarm,"  bade  Captain  Lewis,  tersely,  of  Drouillard. 
Tor-to-hon-ga  was  one  of  the  two  guests. 

"  He  say  de  Tetons  'fraid  de  'Maha  warriors  haf 
come  up  an'  attack  de  boats  of  de  great  white  father," 
interpreted  Drouillard. 

"  Nonsense !  "  muttered  Captain  Lewis. 

And  anybody  might  see  how  foolish  was  this  excuse 
of  the  Tetons:  that  the  Omahas  would  attack  boats 
defended  by  guns,  when  the  Sioux  were  the  real 
enemies.  After  the  village  was  quiet  again,  at  least 
sixty  Teton  warriors  remained  there  on  the  bank,  all 
night,  ready  for  action. 

"  I  t'ink,"  commented  Drouillard,  "  mebbe  we  have 
leetle  trouble,  in  morninV 

105 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

"  We're  in  a  bad  box,"  quoth  Sergeant  Ordway. 
"  Now  we're  tied  up  close  to  the  bank,  under  direct 
fire.  We  may  have  a  hard  time  casting  off." 

Strong  guards  were  kept  under  arms,  on  all  the 
boats.  There  was  little  sleep.  Both  captains  were  con- 
stantly about,  peering  through  the  darkness,  and  listen- 
ing. Early  in  the  morning  the  Tetons  were  assembled ; 
and  while  Patrick  Gass  and  a  detail  were  dragging  from 
a  pirogue,  trying  to  find  the  barge's  anchor,  several 
chiefs  and  warriors  waded  out  to  the  barge  and  climbed 
aboard. 

The  anchor  could  not  be  found. 

"  Never  mind,"  said  Captain  Lewis.  "  We'll  go 
on  without  it.  Send  those  fellows  ashore,  Will. 
Sergeant  Pryor,  take  a  squad  with  you  and  cast  off 
that  rope." 

The  Indian  visitors  did  not  wish  to  go  ashore,  but 
Captain  Clark  ordered  them  pushed  into  the  pirogue 
which  was  to  bear  Sergeant  Pryor  and  squad.  Chief 
Black  Buffalo  still  refused  to  go.  Sergeant  Pryor 
released  the  rope  from  the  tree  on  the  bank  and  re- 
turned. The  sail  on  the  barge  was  being  hoisted — and 
at  the  instant  laughter  and  shouts  mingled,  both  ashore 
and  from  the  boats. 

A  number  of  the  Sioux  had  sat  upon  the  rope, 
holding  it! 

Captain  Lewis  flared  into  hot  rage. 

"  Take  charge  of  the  pirogues,  Will,"  he  ordered. 
"Down  behind  the  gunwale,  men.  Advance  your 

104 


THE  CAPTAINS  SHOW  THEIR  SPUNK 

rifles.  See  that  the  priming's  fresh,  Ordway  and  Gass. 
Stand  to  your  swivel,  Willard !  "  And,  to  Chief  Black 
Buffalo :  "  My  young  men  are  ready  for  battle.  If 
your  young  men  do  not  release  the  rope  we 
will  fire." 

"  He  say  de  young  men  want  leetle  more  tobacV 
translated  Drouillard. 

"  Tell  him  we  have  given  all  the  presents  that  we're 
going  to  give,"  crisply  answered  Captain  Lewis. 
— wait.  Here!"  And  snatching  a  roll  of  tobacco, 
Captain  Lewis  threw  it  at  Black  Buffalo's  feet.  "  Tell 
him  there  is  his  tobacco,  on  the  prairie.  He  says  he  is 
a  great  chief.  Among  the  white  men  great  chiefs  are 
obeyed.  If  he  is  a  great  chief  let  him  order  his  young 
men  to  release  that  rope  and  they  will  obey  him.  But 
we  do  not  believe  he  is  a  great  chief.  He  is  a  squaw, 
and  the  young  men  laugh  at  him." 

"Wah!"  grunted  Chief  Black  Buffalo,  when  he 
heard.  He  seized  the  tobacco  and  leaped  from  the 
boat,  to  surge  for  the  shore.  There  he  tumbled  his 
young  men  right  and  left,  snatched  the  rope  and  hurled 
it  out  into  the  water. 

"  Go,"  he  bawled.  Thus  he  proved  himself  to  be 
the  great  chief. 

The  soldiers  cheered.  The  barge's  sail  caught  the 
breeze,  the  barge  moved.  Just  in  time  Captain  Clark 
leaped  from  the  pirogue,  into  which  he  had  transferred, 
and  gained  the  gunwale,  and  the  deck. 

"  Well  done,  Merne,"  he  panted. 

105 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

"  Golly !  "  babbled  York.  "  Dat  chief  mighty  brash 
when  he  get  started." 

The  barge  and  the  pirogues  gained  the  middle  of 
the  river.  Rapidly  the  Teton  village  was  left  behind. 
Patrick  Gass  waved  his  hat  derisively. 

"  Bad  luck  to  yez,"  he  said.  "  Sure,  an'  if  we'd 
stayed  a  minute  longer  we'd  ha'  put  your  town  into 
mournin'.  We're  not  so  paceful  as  we  look."  And 
he  added :  "  The  'Rikaras  nixt.  We'll  hope  they  be 
gintlemen.  Annyhow,  we've  no  horses  left  for  'em  to 
stale." 

Just  what  was  to  be  expected  from  the  Arikaras 
nobody  might  say,  but  although  they  were  warlike  they 
were  thought  to  be  not  so  mean  as  the  Teton  Sioux. 
The  boats  forged  on,  and  the  month  changed  to  that 
of  October. 

"How  far  to  the  'Rikara  villages,  sir?"  asked 
Captain  Lewis,  of  a  trader  named  Valle  who  came 
aboard  the  barge  for  a  talk. 

"  By  river  about  100  miles,  captain," 

From  an  excursion  ashore  with  Captain  Clark  and 
squad,  York  returned  tremendously  excited. 

"  We  done  found  one  o'  dem  white  b'ars,"  pro- 
claimed York.  "  Yessuh,  me  an'  Marse  Will.  Oof!  " 

"  Where'bouts,  York?" 

"Whar's  his  scalp?" 

"  Did  you  get  a  shot  at  him?  " 

Questions  were  volleyed  thick  and  fast.  York 
wagged  his  woolly  head  and  rolled  his  eyes. 

106 


THE  CAPTAINS  SHOW  THEIR  SPUNK 

"  Nossuh.  Didn't  get  no  shot  at  him.  We  des 
seen  his  track,  in  dem  bushes  yonduh  near  de  mout' 
ob  de  ribber.  Oof!  Marse  Will  he  set  his  moccasin 
cl'ar  inside,  an'  dat  track  it  stuck  out  all  'round.  'Spec' 
dis  chile  ain't  got  bus'ness  wif  dem  critters.  Oof !  " 

"  Yes,"  agreed  George  Shannon.  "According  to 
Drouillard  even  the  Indians  won't  tackle  one  of  those 
white  bears,  except  in  a  crowd  of  six  or  eight.  And  if 
they  don't  shoot  him  through  the  head  or  heart  he's 
liable  to  out-fight  them  all.  Before  they  go  after  him 
they  make  big  medicine,  same  as  if  they  were  going 
to  war  with  a  whole  nation." 

"  He's  'special  fond  of  black  meat,  too,  I  hear 
tell,"  slyly  remarked  John  Thompson. 

York  rolled  his  eyes,  and  muttered.  But  the  Ken- 
tuckians,  some  of  whom  had  hunted  with  Daniel  Boone, 
fingered  their  rifles  eagerly  and  surveyed  the  low  coun- 
try at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  as  if  hoping  to  see  York's 
monster  stirring. 

The  next  day  the  first  Arikara  Indians  came  aboard, 
from  their  lower  village.  Captain  Lewis  went  with 
some  of  them  to  return  the  visit  He  was  accompanied 
back  by  Mr.  Tabeau  and  Mr.  Gravelines,  two  French 
traders  who  lived  with  the  Arikaras.  Mr.  Gravelines 
spoke  the  Arikara  language. 

There  were  three  Arikara  villages,  so  that  the  cap- 
tains ordered  camp  made  on  the  north  side  of  the  river, 
across  from  the  villages. 

The  Arikaras  were  tall,  handsome  people — much 

107 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

superior,  thought  Patrick  Gass  and  the  rest  of  the  men, 
to  the  Sioux.  Chiefs  Ka-ka-wis-sas-sa  or  Lighting 
Crow,  Po-cas-se  or  Hay,  and  Pi-a-he-to  or  Eagle's 
Feather,  were  introduced  by  Mr.  Gravelines,  and  the 
camp  soon  filled  with  the  Ankara  warriors,  and  even 
squaws  who  rowed  across  in  little  skin  boats  of  a  single 
buffalo  hide  stretched  over  basket-work. 

York  held  a  regular  reception,  for  he  appeared  to 
astonish  the  Arikaras  as  much  as  he  had  astonished  the 
Sioux. 

"  Hey,  Marse  Tabeau,"  he  called,  to  the  French 
trader.  "  Des  tell  dese  people  Fse  bohn  wiT,  an'  my 
young  marster  done  ketched  me  when  I  was  runnin'  in 
de  timber  an'  tamed  me.  Tell  'em  I  used  to  eat  peoples 
bones  an'  all.  I'se  a  sorter  g'riller."  And  thereupon 
York  seized  a  thick  stick,  and  snapped  it  in  his  two 
hands,  and  howled  and  gritted  his  teeth.  He  was  very 
strong,  was  York. 

"  Huh !  "  grunted  the  Arikaras,  respectfully  falling 
back  from  him. 

"  That  will  do,  York,"  cautioned  Captain  Clark, 
trying  not  to  laugh. 

But  York,  of  much  importance,  thoroughly  enjoyed 
himself. 

The  Arikaras  were  splendid  entertainers  and  ex- 
ceedingly hospitable — "  'Mos'  like  white  folks," 
asserted  York.  They  did  not  beg,  as  the  Sioux  had 
begged;  they  gave  lavishly  out  of  their  store  of  corn 
and  beans  and  dried  squashes,  and  accepted  thankfully 

108 


THE  CAPTAINS  SHOW  THEIR  SPUNK 

the  gifts  from  the  great  father;  they  would  not  drink 
any  whisky — "  We  are  surprised  that  the  great  father 
should  send  us  liquor  to  make  fools  of  us,"  said  Chief 
Lighting  Crow.  Their  houses  were  built  close  together, 
of  a  willow  frame  plastered  with  mud,  and  were  entered 
through  a  covered  passage-way  that  kept  out  the  wind. 
Around  each  village  was  a  fence  of  close  upright 
pickets,  for  defense.  They  were  well  armed,  too,  with 
guns. 

When  it  came  time,  after  the  councils  had  been 
held,  to  leave  the  friendly  Arikaras,  all  the  men  of  the 
expedition  hated  to  go.  John  Newman,  who  had  en- 
listed at  St.  Louis,  was  the  most  out-spoken. 

"  Look  here,"  he  uttered,  boldly,  among  his  com- 
rades at  the  last  camp  fire.  "Why  should  we  go  on, 
up  to  those  Mandans  ?  Why  can't  we  spend  the  winter 
where  we  are?  The  Mandan  village  is  nigh  on  200 
miles  yet,  and  I'm  tired  of  working  my  hands  raw  in 
this  cold  weather,  hauling  the  boats  over  sand-bars.'* 

"  Orders  be  orders,"  reminded  Patrick  Gass.  "An* 
up  to  the  Mandans  we  go,  I'm  thinkin'." 

"  Not  if  we  show  a  little  spunk  and  say  we  want 
to  stay,"  retorted  John. 

"  Whisht,  now !  "  cautioned  Patrick.  "  Would  ye 
spoil  a  good  record?  Faith,"  he  added,  "if  the  cap- 
tain heard  ye  he'll  have  ye  on  the  carpet  for  mutiny,  b1 
gorry."  Captain  Clark  had  strode  hastily  by,  wrapped 
in  his  cloak.  "It's  mutiny  ye're  talkin'/*  scolded, 
Patrick  Gass.  "An*  I  want  no  more  of  it" 

109 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

Captain  Clark  had  heard,  for  at  breaking  camp  in 
the  morning,  John  was  placed  under  arrest  and  confined 
in  the  forecastle  aboard  the  barge. 

That  night,  at  camp,  twenty-five  miles  above  the 
Arikara  villages,  a  court-martial  was  held  on  the  case 
of  John  Newman.  He  was  found  guilty  of  mutinous 
speech  and  sentenced  to  received  seventy-five  lashes, 
and  be  suspended  from  the  company.  The  next  noon 
the  boats  stopped  in  the  rain,  at  a  sand-bar  in  the  middle 
of  the  river,  everybody  was  ordered  out,  and  John  was 
roundly  whipped  on  the  naked  back  with  ramrods  and 
switches. 

Chief  Ah-ke-tah-na-sha  of  the  Arikaras,  who  was 
going  with  the  expedition  up  to  the  Mandans,  to  make 
peace  between  the  Mandans  and  the  Arikaras,  squatted 
on  the  sand-bar,  to  watch.  Evidently  he  did  not  under- 
stand, for  he  began  to  weep. 

"  Why  does  Ah-ke-tah-na-sha  cry?  "  asked  Captain 
Clark. 

Ah-ke-tah-na-sha,  who  could  speak  some  Sioux, 
explained  to  Drouillard,  and  Drouillard  explained  to 
the  captains. 

"  He  say  de  'Rikara  dey  punish  by  death,  but  dey 
never  whip  even  de  children.  He  weep  for  Newman.'* 

"  Tell  him  what  the  matter  is,  and  that  this  is  the 
white  man's  way  of  punishing  disobedience/'  directed 
Captain  Clark,  to  Drouillard. 

Drouillard  did;  and  reported, 

"  He  say  mebbe  so,  but  fmong  Injuns  to  whip  men 
no 


THE  CAPTAINS  SHOW  THEIR  SPUNK 

rrake  women  of  dem.  If  dees  is  white  man  way,  all 
right.  Men  ought  to  obey  deir  chiefs." 

"  Now  aren't  ye  'shamed  o'  yourself,  when  even  an 
Injun  cries  over  ye?  "  reproved  Patrick  Gass,  of  John 
Newman,  who  was  painfully  donning  his  shirt  and 
coat. 

"  Well,  I  am,"  admitted  John.  "  I  guess  I  deserved 
what  I  got.  I  don't  harbor  any  grudge,  and  I'll  do  my 
duty." 


VII 

SNUG  IN  WINTER  QUARTERS 

THE  weather  had  grown  much  colder,  with  squalls 
of  snow  and  sleet  and  high  winds ;  the  wild  geese  were 
flying  high,  headed  into  the  south ;  and  the  river,  fall- 
ing rapidly,  was  split  with  bars  and  narrow  channels, 
when,  two  weeks  after  the  punishment  of  John  New- 
man, the  barge  and  the  two  pirogues  anchored  off  the 
first  of  the  Mandan  villages,  in  the  centre  of  present 
North  Dakota. 

"  Five  long  months  we've  been  travelin',  an'  for 
sixteen  hundred  crooked  miles,"  quoth  Patrick  Gass. 
"  Sure  we  desarve  a  bit  o'  rist.  Now  what  will  the 
Mandans  say,  I  wonder?" 

"  Did  you  see  that  young  fellow  who'd  lost  the 
halves  of  two  fingers  ?  "  queried  George  Shannon. 
"  Well,  he'd  cut  'em  off,  on  purpose,  because  some  of 
his  relatives  had  died!  That's  the  Mandan  way  of 
going  into  mourning." 

"  'Twould  be  better  to  cut  the  hair,  I'm  thinkin'," 
said  Pat.  "  They  most  of  'em  nade  it — an'  hair'll  grow 
again." 

The  Mandans  had  swarmed  aboard,  and  were  ex- 
amining every  object  with  much  curiosity.  They  were 
an  odd  people,  wrinkled  and  of  low  stature — many  of 
the  women  with  brown  hair,  but  others  with  gray  hair 

112 


SNUG  IN  WINTER  QUARTERS 

which  flared  almost  to  the  ground.  However,  their 
voices  were  gentle,  and  they  brought  gifts  of  corn  and 
vegetables,  in  earthen  jars. 

Mr.  Jessaume,  a  French  trader  among  them,  also 
came  aboard;  so  did  a  Scotchman  named  Hugh  Mc- 
Cracken,  from  a  British  fur  company  post  far  north. 

"  They're  frindly,  be  they,  Pierre?"  asked  Pat,  of 
One-eyed  Cruzatte,  who  was  hobbling  past  after  a  lively 
conversation  with  Mr.  Jessaume. 

"  Oui,"  answered  Cruzatte,  with  a  grimace  of  pain. 
"  I  t'ink  we  stay  an'  spen'  one  winter.  Dey  glad.  We 
protect'  dem  'gainst  de  Sioux.  My  poor  leg,  he  carry 
me  not  furder,  anyway." 

For  Cruzatte  had  the  rheumatism  in  both  knees. 
Reuben  Fields  was  laid  up  with  the  rheumatism  in  his 
neck;  and  Captain  Clark  had  been  so  bothered  with  a 
stiff  neck  that  he  could  not  move  around  until  Captain 
Lewis  had  applied  a  hot  stone  wrapped  in  red  flannel. 

"  Hi !  "  cackled  big  York,  strutting  as  usual.  "  Dese 
heah  Mandans  done  gif  me  name  Great  Medicine, 
Mistuh  McCracken  say.  Dey  wants  me  foh  a  chief." 

"  There's  coal  in  the  banks,  yonder,"  spoke  George 
Shannon.  "  See  it,  Peter?  " 

"  What  is  coal?  "  ventured  Peter. 

"  Black  stuff,  like  a  rock,  that  will  burn." 

"  It'll  make  fine  fuel  for  my  forge,"  put  in  John 
Shields,  who  was  clever  at  fashioning  things  out  of 
metal.  "  Expect  I'll  be  busy  all  winter,  smithing,  while 
you  other  fellows  are  hunting  and  dancing." 

113 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

The  Mandan  villages  were  three  in  number.  There 
was  a  village  of  Minnetarees,  also;  and  a  village  of 
Ar-wa-cah-was  and  Ah-na-ha-ways — Indians  whom 
neither  Drouillard  nor  Cruzatte  knew. 

"Ah,  well,  now,  belike  there  be  plenty  Injuns  on 
ahead,  too,  that  ye  never  heard  of,"  declared  Pat. 
"  Yis,  an'  lots  of  other  curiosities  before  we  get  to  the 
Paycific  Ocean." 

The  head  chief  of  all  the  Mandans  was  Pos-caj> 
sa-he,  or  Black  Cat.  The  chief  of  the  lowest  village 
was  Sha-ha-ka,  or  Big  White.  The  chief  of  the  second 
village  was  Raven  Man.  The  chief  of  the  Ar-wa- 
cah-was  was  White  Buffalo  Robe.  The  chief  of  the 
Ah-na-ha-ways  was  Cherry-on-a-Bush,  or  Little  Cherry, 
but  he  was  very  old.  The  chief  of  the  Minnetaree 
village  was  Black  Moccasin.  And  the  chief  of  the 
upper  Mandan  village,  across  from  the  Minnetaree 
village,  was  Red  Shield. 

The  two  captains  met  in  council  with  all  the  villages 
together,  and  smoked  the  pipe  of  peace  and  distributed 
gifts.  During  the  speeches  old  Cherry-on-a-Bush,  the 
Ah-na-ha-way  chief,  rose  to  go,  because,  he  said,  his 
son  was  on  the  war-trail  against  the  Sho-sho-nes,  or 
Snakes,  and  his  village  was  liable  to  be  attacked. 

"  Shame  on  you,  for  an  impolite  old  man,"  rebuked 
Sha-ha-ka,  Big  White.  "  Do  you  not  know  better  than 
to  show  such  bad  manners  before  the  chiefs  from  the 
great  white  father?  " 

And  poor  Cherry-on-a-Bush  sat  down  mumbling. 
114 


SNUG  IN  WINTER  QUARTERS 

The  Arikara  chief  who  had  come  up  on  the  barge 
was  well  received.  The  Mandans  promised  to  observe 
peace  between  the  two  nations. 

"  We  did  not  begin  the  war,"  they  said.  "  We  have 
been  killing  those  'Rees  like  we  kill  birds,  until  we  are 
tired  of  killing.  Now  we  will  send  a  chief  to  them, 
with  this  chief  of  theirs,  and  they  can  smoke  peace." 

Camp  was  made  at  a  spot  picked  out  by  Captain 
Clark,  across  the  river,  below  the  first  Mandan  village, 
and  everybody  not  on  guard  duty  was  set  at  work 
erecting  winter  quarters.  Captain  Clark  had  charge  of 
the  camp,  but  Patrick  Gass  "  bossed  "  the  work.  He 
was  a  carpenter.  Axes  rang,  trees  were  felled  and 
under  Patrick's  direction  were  trimmed  and  notched,  to 
form  the  walls  and  roofs  of  the  cabins. 

There  were  to  be  two  rows  of  cabins,  joined  so  as 
to  make  four  rooms,  below,  on  each  side,  and  four 
rooms  above,  entered  by  ladders.  The  walls  were  of 
hewn  logs  tightly  chinked  with  clay;  and  the  ceilings, 
seven  feet  high,  were  of  planks  trimmed  with  adzes — 
and  covered  with  grass  and  clay  to  make  a  warm  floor 
for  the  lofts.  The  roofs  slanted  inward,  which  made 
the  outside  of  the  rows  eighteen  feet  high,  so  that 
nobody  could  climb  over.  Every  down-stairs  room  had 
a  fire-place,  and  a  plank  floor.  The  two  rows  met,  at 
one  end,  and  were  open  at  the  other;  and  across  this 
opening  was  to  be  stretched  a  high  fence  of  close,  thick 
pickets,  entered  by  a  stout  gate. 

The  Mandans  and  their  Indian  friends  marveled 
115 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

much  at  the  skill  of  the  white  men,  and  at  the  strength 
of  York,  the  Great  Medicine.  They  admitted  that 
these  white  men's  houses  were  better  even  than  the 
Mandan  lodges — although  the  Mandan  lodges  were 
also  of  heavy  timbers,  plastered  with  earth,  and  banked 
with  earth  at  the  bottoms;  had  doors  of  buffalo  hide, 
and  fireplaces  in  the  middle. 

Mr.  Jessaume,  the  French  trader,  moved  to  the 
camp,  with  his  Mandan  wife  and  child;  and  so  did 
another  French  trader  named  Toussaint  Chaboneau. 
He  had  two  wives :  one  was  very  old  and  ugly,  but 
the  other  was  young  and  handsome.  She  was  a  Sho- 
sho-ne  girl,  from  far-off.  The  Minnetaree  Indians 
had  attacked  her  people  and  taken  her  captive,  and 
Chaboneau  had  bought  her  as  his  wife.  She  and  the 
old  wife  did  not  get  along  together  very  well. 

Mr.  Jessaume  and  Chaboneau  could  speak  the  lan- 
guages, and  were  hired  by  the  captains  to  be  interpreters 
for  the  camp. 

"  My  young  wife  come  from  ze  Rock  mountains," 
said  Chaboneau — who  was  a  dark  little  man,  his 
wrinkled  face  like  smoked  leather.  "  One  time  I  was 
dere.  I  trade  with  Minnetaree." 

"  You  never  were  over  the  mountains,  Toussaint, 
were  you?  "  asked  Sergeant  Pryor. 

"  Me,  Monsieur  Sergeant?  "  And  Toussaint  shud- 
dered. "  Ma  foi  (my  word),  no !  It  is  not  ze  possible. 
Up  dere,  no  meat,  no  grass,  no  trail,  netting  but  rock, 
ice,  cold,  an'  ze  terrible  savages  out  for  ze  scalp." 

116 


SNUG  IN  WINTER  QUARTERS 

The  cabins  were  erected  rapidly,  for  the  cotton- 
wood  logs  were  soft  and  easily  split.  The  first  trees 
were  felled  on  November  3,  and  on  November  20  the 
walls  were  all  in  place.  The  men  moved  in  before  the 
roofs  were  put  on,  but  buffalo  hides  were  stretched 
over. 

The  two  captains  occupied  one  cabin,  at  the  head 
of  the  angle.  And  six  or  seven  men  were  assigned  to 
each  of  the  other  cabins.  Sergeant  Patrick  Gass, 
Privates  George  Shannon,  Reuben  Fields  and  Joseph 
Fields,  who  were  great  hunters,  George  Gibson,  who 
played  the  violin,  John  Newman,  who  now  was  no 
longer  mutinous,  but  worked  with  a  will,  and  Peter 
formed  one  mess;  Corporal  Warfington  and  his  six 
soldiers  from  St.  Louis  formed  another;  Drouillard, 
the  hunter,  and  five  of  the  French  boatmen  another; 
One-eyed  Cruzatte  and  five  other  boatmen  another; 
and  so  forth.  Jessaume  and  Chaboneau  had  erected 
their  own  lodges. 

It  was  high  time  that  the  cabins  were  completed. 
The  weather  turned  very  cold  and  windy,  and  ice 
floated  in  the  river.  The  roofs  were  hastened,  and  the 
picket  fence  ought  to  be  erected  soon,  for  the  Mandans 
were  not  yet  satisfied  with  the  presence  of  the  white 
men. 

Black  Cat  and  Big  White  were  frequent  visitors. 
One  day  after  Black  Cat  had  spent  the  whole  morning 
talking  with  the  captains,  Chaboneau  reported  the  bad 
news. 

117 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

"  Mebbe  now  dere  is  troubles,"  he  uttered,  as  he 
sat  toasting  his  shins  at  the  fire  in  the  Patrick  Gass 
cabin.  He  had  entered  with  a  gay  "  Bon  soir  (good 
evening),  messieurs,"  and  had  brought  a  draft  of  icy 
air  with  him.  "  Mebbe  now  dere  is  troubles." 

"  What's  the  matter,  Toussaint?  " 

"  I  interpret  for  ze  Black  Cat  an'  ze  captains.  Ze 
Black  Cat  say  ze  Sioux  dey  much  enrage',  'cause  ze 
'Rees  make  ze  peace  with  ze  Mandan.  Dey  sen'  ze 
word  dat  someday  dey  come  up  an'  take  ze  scalp  of  all 
ze  'Ree  an'  ze  Mandan  an'  ze  white  soldier.  Dey  sorry 
dey  did  not  kill  ze  white  soldier  down-river,  for  ze 
white  soldier  carry  bad  talk.  Black  Cat  fear.  He  fear 
mebbe  ze  'Ree  get  scare'  an'  help  ze  Sioux,  an'  he  been 
tor,  too,  dat  ze  white  soldiers  build  strong  fort,  to  stay 
an'  try  to  make  slaves  of  ze  Mandan,  an'  soon  ze  whole 
country  he  be  Sioux." 

"  That  sounds  like  the  British,"  remarked  George 
Shannon.  "  They  naturally  don't  want  the  United 
States  in  here,  taking  away  their  trade.  They'd  like  to 
have  us  driven  out." 

"An'  what  did  the  captains  say?  "  inquired  Patrick 
Gass. 

"  Dey  say  Black  Cat  must  not  open  hees  ears  to  such 
talk,"  answered  Toussaint.  "  Ze  United  States  speak 
only  truth,  an'  if  ze  Mandan  listen  ze  white  soldiers 
will  protec'  dem  'gainst  all  deir  enemies.  Black  Cat 
say  dere  been  a  council  held,  on  ze  matter,  an'  ze 
Mandan  will  wait  an*  see." 

118 


SNUG  IN  WINTER  QUARTERS 

Much  was  yet  to  be  done  before  the  fort  was  secure. 
The  barge  ought  to  be  unloaded  and  its  goods  stored 
in  the  two  store-cabins.  The  men  in  the  Gass  cabin 
spent  their  time  evenings  braiding  a  large  rope  of  elk- 
skin,  by  which  the  barge  might  be  hauled  up  on  the 
bank,  farther  out  of  the  ice.  Big  White  and  Little 
Raven  and  other  chiefs  and  warriors  brought  meat, 
on  the  backs  of  their  squaws.  Big  White's  village  was 
across  the  river,  and  he  and  his  wife  came  over  in  their 
buffalo-hide  boat.  She  followed  him  to  the  fort,  with 
100  pounds  of  meat  at  a  time  on  her  back.  She  was 
delighted  with  the  gift  of  a  hand-ax,  with  which  to  cut 
wood  for  the  lodge  fire.  The  captains  presented  the 
Mandan  nation  with  an  iron  mill  for  grinding  corn. 
This  pleased  the  women. 

The  weather  turned  warm,  and  Captain  Lewis  took 
a  squad  of  men,  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  villages.  Only 
one  chief  was  unfriendly.  He,  named  Mah-pah-pa-pa- 
ra-pas-sa-too,  or  Horned  Weasel,  refused  to  see  the 
captain  at  all. 

"And  we  know  the  reason  why,"  asserted  Sergeant 
Pryor,  who  had  been  along.  "  Seven  traders  of  the 
British  Northwest  Company  have  just  come  down  with 
dog-sleds  from  the  north  country,  and  are  giving  out 
British  flags  and  medals  and  telling  the  chiefs  we 
aren't  true  men/' 

When  Air.  Francois  Larocque,  the  captain  of  the 
traders,  paid  a  visit  to  the  fort,  Captain  Lewis  in- 
formed him  very  strongly  that  the  United  States  would 

119 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

not  tolerate  any  flags  and  medals  except  those  author- 
ized by  the  President.  This  was  now  United  States 
territory. 

This  day  Sergeant  Pryor  dislocated  his  shoulder 
while  helping  to  take  down  the  mast  of  the  barge. 

Now  cold  weather  set  in  again,  and  the  river  was 
closed  by  ice.  The  snow  fell  for  a  day  and  a  night, 
and  lay  thirteen  inches  deep.  But  fortunately  the  roofs 
were  on  the  cabins,  the  stone  chimneys  drew  well,  and 
there  was  plenty  of  meat  and  dried  corn. 


VIII 

EXCITEMENT  AT  FORT  MANDAN 

"Ho!    Hi!     Hi-o!" 

It  was  the  morning  after  Sergeant  Pryor  had  hurt 
his  shoulder,  and  the  Northwest  Company  traders  had 
been  talked  to  by  Captain  Lewis ;  a  bitterly  cold  morn- 
ing, too,  with  a  stinging  north  wind  blowing  across  the 
snow  and  ice.  The  shrill  call  drifted  flatly. 

"Hi!    Hi-o!" 

"  Sergeant  of  the  guard,"  summoned  William 
Bratton,  who  in  beaver-fur  cap,  buffalo- fur  coat  and 
overshoes  and  mittens  was  walking  sentry  outside  the 
opening  of  the  two  lines  of  cabins. 

Sergeant  John  Ordway  came  running.  All  the  men 
stopped  their  after-breakfast  tasks  at  the  barge  and  in 
the  street  and  in  the  timber,  to  gaze  and  listen.  On 
the  opposite  bank  of  the  river  an  Indian  stood,.wrapped 
in  his  buffalo-robe,  with  his  hands  to  his  mouth,  calling. 
The  river,  frozen  from  shore  to  shore,  was  only  400 
yards  wide,  and  the  voice  carried  clearly. 

"  I  dunno  what  he  wants,  but  he  wants  something," 
informed  Sentry  Bratton. 

"  Hi  I  Hi-o !  "  And  then  signs  and  a  jangle  of 
Indian  words. 

"  He  wants  to  talk  with  us,"  explained  Peter,  who 
read  the  signs,  to  George  Shannon. 

121 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

"  Where's  Chaboneau  ?  "  demanded  Sergeant  Ord- 
way.  "Here,  Toussaint!  What's  he  saying?" 

"Hi!"  called  back  Chaboneau,  with  lifted  hand. 
And  listened  to  the  answer.  "  He  say  he  have  some- 
t'ing  ver'  important  to  tell  to  ze  Long  Knife  an'  ze  Red 
Head.  He  want  to  come  over." 

The  Indian  crossed  on  the  ice.  The  sergeant  and 
Chaboneau  accompanied  him  to  the  headquarters 
cabin  at  the  head  of  the  street.  The  Indian  was 
not  closeted  there  very  long.  Out  from  the  cabin 
bustled  Sergeant  Ordway  again,  and  hastened  down 
to  the  barge. 

"  Oh,  Gass !  Here — you're  to  take  twenty  men,  Pat, 
and  go  with  Captain  Clark.  See  that  they're  well 
armed,  and  in  marching  order.  The  captain  means 
business." 

"  That  I  will,"  replied  Pat,  dropping  his  armful 
of  supplies.  "  B'  gorry,  I  hope  it's  a  bit  of  a  fight." 

"What's  up,  John?  "  queried  half  a  dozen  voices. 

"  The  Sioux  have  tried  to  wipe  out  a  party  of 
Mandans,  down  to  the  southwest,  and  Big  White's 
afraid  the  village  is  going  to  be  attacked.  So  now's 
the  time  for  us  to  help  Big  White  and  show  these 
Mandans  our  hearts  are  good. 

"Hooray!"  cheered  Pat.     "All  right." 

Out  from  the  headquarters  cabin  strode  Captain 
Clark,  in  his  furs,  and  buckling  his  sword  about  his 
waist  outside  of  his  buffalo  overcoat.  Usually  he  did 
not  wear  his  sword.  He  was  known  as  the  Red  Heaxl. 

122 


EXCITEMENT  AT  FORT  MANDAN 

Captain  Lewis  was  known  as  the  Long  Knife,  because 
he  was  rarely  without  his  sword. 

Behind  Captain  Clark  came  Chaboneau,  and  York, 
agrin,  carrying  his  rifle,  and  looking  indeed  like  a  black 
buffalo. 

Peter  thrilled.  He  was  wild  to  go,  himself.  He 
ran  after  Pat,  and  clutched  him  by  his  skirt. 

"I  go,  Pat." 

"  By  no  orders  o'  mine,  bedad,"  rebuked  Pat.  "Ah, 
now,"  he  added.  "  Sure,  it's  the  Irish  blood  in  ye — 
an*  if  ye  snake  after  an'  the  cap'n  doesn't  see  ye,  I'll 
not  send  ye  back.  But  ye  can't  go  f urder  'n  the  village. 
Mind  that." 

"  York  can  go.  I  can  go,"  asserted  Peter,  for  York 
was  no  soldier,  either,  although  sometimes  he  pretended 
to  be.  So  Peter  ran  to  York. 

"  You  get  out,  boy,"  rebuked  York,  strutting  about 
while  the  men  were  being  formed  at  Sergeant  Pat's 
sharp  orders.  "  Dis  am  wah !  Dis  am  berry  seryus 
bus'ness  when  Cap'n  Will  done  buckle  on  his  sword. 
Yessuh.  'Tain't  no  place  foh  chillun." 

"  Did  Captain  Clark  say  you  could  go?  "  challenged 
Peter. 

"  'Twa'n't  necessitous,  chile/'  retorted  York. 
"  Marse  Will  gwine  to  take  keer  ob  his  soldiers ;  I  go 
to  take  keer  ob  Marse  Will.  He  cain't  get  along  wiffout 
Yawk.  I  raise  him  from  a  baby." 

But  when  the  little  column  pressed  forward,  Captain 
Clark  and  Chaboneau,  the  interpreter,  in  the  lead, 

123 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

Sergeant  Pat  conducting  the  double  file  of  men,  and 
York  toiling  behind,  Peter  trotted  at  the  heels  of  York. 

York  glanced  over  his  shoulder,  and  grunted. 

"  Huh !  'Spec'  you  think  you  gwine  to  help  carry 
Marse  Will's  scalps." 

The  ice  was  firm  and  snow-covered.  Captain  Clark 
led  straight  across.  No  sounds  except  the  barking  of 
dogs  issued  from  the  site  of  the  Big  White  village, 
above.  The  Sioux  had  not  yet  attacked.  Not  an 
Indian  was  to  be  seen;  in  the  distance  before,  the 
smoke  from  the  lodges  streamed  in  the  wind.  The 
captain  made  a  half  circuit  of  the  village,  and  entered 
it  on  a  sudden,  from  the  land  side.  At  the  approach 
of  the  little  company  the  Mandan  dogs  barked  furiously 
— women  screamed — the  village  seemed  to  be  alarmed ; 
but  Chief  Big  White,  and  Chief  O-hee-naw,  a  captive 
Cheyenne,  and  Chief  Sho-ta-haw-ro-ra  or  Coal,  issued 
to  see  what  was  the  matter. 

"  We  have  come  to  protect  our  friends  the  Man- 
dans,"  announced  Captain  Clark. 

"The  Red  Head  chief  is  welcome,"  bade  Big 
White,  breathless — for  he  was  rather  fat.  His  hair, 
pure  white,  bushed  out  all  around  his  head.  "Let 
my  brothers  come  to  the  council  lodge." 

Peter  had  done  well  to  stick  by  York;  for  York 
was  Great  Medicine,  and  of  course  was  gladly  admitted 
into  a  council.  Peter  sidled  in  beside  him.  If  he  had 
tried  to  get  in  alone,  the  chiefs  would  have  ordered 
him  out.  Councils  were  no  places  for  boys. 

124 


EXCITEMENT  AT  FORT  MANDAN 

Captain  Clark  made  a  speech. 

"  We  have  heard  that  the  Sioux  have  not  kept  our 
peace  talk  in  their  hearts,"  he  said,  "  but  have  attacked 
our  friends,  the  Mandans,  and  have  stained  the  prairie 
with  blood.  So  we  armed  at  once  and  are  here  to 
lead  the  Mandan  warriors  against  the  Sioux  and  punish 
them  for  their  treachery." 

"  Wah!  "  grunted  the  chiefs  and  warriors,  approv- 
ing. They  spoke  together,  in  their  half  circle,  a  few 
minutes;  and  O-hee-naw,  or  Big  Man,  the  Cheyenne, 
arose  and  dropped  his  robe,  to  answer. 

"  We  see  now,"  said  Big  Man,  "  that  what  you 
have  told  us  before  is  true.  When  our  enemies  attack 
us,  you  are  ready  to  protect  us.  But,  father,  the  snow 
is  deep,  the  weather  is  very  cold,  and  our  horses  cannot 
travel  far.  The  murderers  have  gone  off.  In  the 
spring,  when  the  snow  has  disappeared,  if  you  will 
conduct  us  we  will  follow  you  to  the  Sioux  and  the 
'Ricaras  with  all  our  warriors." 

When  the  council  dispersed,  the  Mandans  were  in  a 
very  good  humor.  Chief  Big  White  accompanied  Cap- 
tain Clark  back  to  the  river,  and  hugged  him,  at  parting. 

"  We  love  our  white  fathers,"  he  declared.  "  My 
village  has  been  weeping  night  and  day  for  the  young 
man  slain  by  the  Sioux ;  but  now  my  people  will  wipe 
their  eyes." 

Across  the  ice  Captain  Clark  marched  his  men,  to 
the  fort  again. 

"Huh!"  grumbled  York.     "Dose  Mandans,  dey 

125 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

ain't  gwine  to  fight  when  'tain't  comf 'table  to  fight." 

"  Sure,  I'm  thinkin'  that  was  jest  a  Mandan  trick, 
to  try  our  mettle,"  asserted  Patrick  Gass. 

"  De  Mandans  now  our  heap  frien's,"  assured 
Drouillard. 

Colder  grew  the  weather,  until  at  the  close  of  the 
first  week  in  December  the  mercury  of  the  thermometer 
stood  at  10  above  zero.  The  earth  was  freezing  so  rap- 
idly that  the  men  had  hard  work  to  set  the  pickets  of  the 
fence  which  was  to  enclose  the  open  end  of  the  fort. 

Now  on  the  morning  of  December  7,  Patrick  Gass 
paused  in  his  work  of  aligning  the  fence  stringers  to 
which  the  pickets  were  being  spiked,  and  swung  his 
arms  and  puffed.  His  breath  floated  white  in  the  bit- 
ing wind.  He  had  peeled  his  overcoat,  and  was  work- 
ing in  his  flannel  shirt.  Sha-ha-ka  the  Mandan  chief 
shuffled  business-like  through  the  opening  left  for  the 
gate.  He  was  muffled  from  chin  to  ankles  in  a  buffalo 
robe;  and  above  it  protruded  his  bushy  white  hair 
framing  his  solemn  but  good-humored  wrinkled  face. 

"  Top  o'  the  mornin'  to  ye,  Big  White,"  hailed  Pat. 
"  What's  the  good  news,  this  fine  day?  " 

"  Ooh !  "  grunted  Big  White,  scarcely  checking  his 
stride.  "Where  Red  Head?  Long  Knife?  Heap 
buffs."  And  he  passed  on. 

"  Hooray !  "  cheered  Patrick  Gass.  "  Buff'lo,  does 
he  say?" 

Suddenly,  through  the  thin  air  drifted  a  distant 
medley  of  shrill  shouts,  across  the  river. 

126 


EXCITEMENT  AT  FORT  MANDAN 

"  Listen!"  bade  Cruzatte.  "  Dey  hunt  boof'lo! 
De  boof'lo  haf  come  out  on  de  prairie !  " 

The  uproar  increased.  Sha-ha-ka  had  disappeared 
in  headquarters;  but  out  burst  York,  and  Chaboneau, 
and  Jessaume,  armed  and  running  for  horses.  Out 
issued  Captain  Clark  and  Sha-ha-ka,  followed  by  Cap- 
tain Lewis.  Baptiste  Lepage,  a  new  interpreter,  yelled 
in  French  to  Jessaume,  and  Jessaume  excitedly 
answered. 

"  Gran'  boof'lo  hunt,"  proclaimed  Baptiste,  run- 
ning also.  "  Ever'body  hunt  ze  boof'lo." 

Tools  were  dropped,  but  Captain  Clark's  voice  rang 
clearly. 

"Pryor!" 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Take  a  dozen  men  who  aren't  otherwise  engaged 
and  join  the  Indians  across  the  river  in  that  buffalo 
hunt.  Get  all  the  meat  you  can.  Use  what  horses  you 
need,  but  don't  wait  for  me." 

"  Yes,  sir.  I  will,  sir."  And  rejoiced,  Sergeant 
Pryor,  whose  arm  had  healed,  called  off  the  names  as 
he  bustled  hither-thither. 

"Arrah!  "  mourned  Patrick  Gass.  "  That  laves  us 
out,  fellows.  '  Not  otherwise  engaged/  said  the  cap- 
tain. An'  here  we  are  with  our  fince  not  finished." 

Captain  Clark  and  Chief  Big  White  were  hurrying 
for  the  river,  and  the  village  beyond. 

"  Don't  you  want  your  rifle,  Will?  "  called  Captain 
Lewis,  after. 

0  127 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

"  No,  Merne.  I'll  hunt  as  the  Indians  do.  We'll 
beat  them  at  their  own  game." 

Already  the  Sergeant  Pryor  detachment  were 
mounting.  There  were  scarcely  horses  enough  to  go 
around,  for  only  enough  had  been  hired  from  the 
Mandans  to  supply  the  regular  hunters. 

"  There  are  more  at  the  village,  lads,"  called  Cap- 
tain Lewis. 

The  men  without  mounts  went  running,  plodding, 
laughing,  across  the  snowy  ice,  for  the  village.  York 
was  pressing  after  the  captain  and  the  chief.  He  car- 
ried a  rifle  and  had  a  large  knife  belted  around  his 
soldier's  overcoat.  Peter  delayed  not,  but  scurried, 
too. 

"  I  stay  by  Marse  Will,"  was  declaring  York.  "  We 
show  dem  Injuns." 

In  mid-river  the  sounds  from  the  hunt  were  plainer. 
To  thud  of  hoofs  the  squad  under  Sergeant  Pryor  raced 
past  with  a  cheer  and  flourish  of  weapons.  At  the 
village  the  squad  afoot  were  met  by  squaws,  holding 
ponies.  A  young  squaw  who  had  frequently  smiled  on 
York  tendered  him  the  hide  rope  of  a  splendid  black. 

"  Great  Medicine  heap  kill  'um,"  she  urged. 

"Huh!  Dey  all  like  Yawk,"  chuckled  York, 
scrambling  aboard. 

The  other  men  were  grabbing  ropes  and  mounting. 
A  very  old  and  ugly  squaw  with  a  spotted  pony  yelped 
at  Peter  (who  knew  better  than  to  push  forward)  and 
signed.  She  thrust  the  pony's  thong  at  him. 

128 


EXCITEMENT  AT  FORT  MANDAN 

"  Boy  go,"  she  cackled,  grinning  toothless.  She 
signed  "  Wait,"  and  shuffled  away,  fast. 

All  the  men  except  Peter  and  York  left,  hammering 
their  ponies  with  their  overshoes,  in  haste  to  join  the 
fray.  Yonder,  about  a  mile,  a  snow  dust  hung  in  the 
wind,  and  under  it  black  figures  plunged  and  darted. 
Reports  of  fire-arms  boomed  dully. 

Captain  Clark  and  Chief  Sha-ha-ka  had  disappeared 
in  the  chief's  lodge,  before  which  stood  a  squaw  hold- 
ing two  horses.  Peter's  squaw  came  trotting  back,  with 
a  bow  and  quiver  of  arrows.  Grinning,  she  extended 
them  to  Peter,  and  signed:  "Go!  Shoot!"  Peter 
thankfully  accepted — slung  the  quiver  at  his  waist, 
strung  the  bow.  He  never  had  killed  a  buffalo,  but  he 
had  shot  rabbits;  now  he  would  kill  a  buffalo.  The 
bow  was  a  strong  little  bow,  but  after  these  weeks  of 
work  he  had  a  strong  little  arm. 

"  Golly !  "  chuckled  York.  "  Cap'n  Clark  done  got 
a  bow,  too." 

For  the  captain  and  Sha-ha-ka  had  emerged  from 
the  chief's  lodge.  Sha-ha-ka  was  muffled  in  a  buffalo 
robe;  so  was  the  captain.  He  had  shed  his  overcoat, 
and  his  cap,  had  bound  about  his  brow  a  scarlet  hand- 
kerchief, Indian  fashion,  and  his  red  hair  flowed  loose 
to  his  shoulders.  He  carried  a  bow;  doubtless  under- 
neath his  robe  was  the  quiver. 

As  quick  as  the  chief  he  snatched  the  hide  rope  from 
the  squaw's  willing  fingers,  and  vaulted  upon  the  pony's 
back,  and  he  and  Big  White  pounded  off  together. 

129 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

"Come  on,  boy,"  bade  York;  and  he  and  Peter 
launched  in  pursuit. 

"  Never  mind  me,  York,"  yelled  the  captain,  over 
his  shoulder.  "  I'll  take  care  of  myself.  This  gray  is 
the  best  buffalo  horse  in  the  village." 

"  Marse  Will  done  been  brung  up  by  Dan'l  Boone," 
explained  York,  to  Peter.  "Yessuh;  done  shot  wif 
bow  'n  arrer,  too,  back  in  ol'  Kaintuck.  Reg'lar  Injun, 
Marse  Will  is." 

The  Indian  ponies  were  saddled  only  with  a  buffalo- 
hide  pad,  from  which  hung  thong  loops  into  which  the 
rider  might  thrust  his  feet,  if  he  wished.  Peter  could 
not  reach  the  loops.  And  the  ponies  were  bridled  only 
with  a  single  thong  which  looped  around  the  lower 
jaw.  But  Peter  had  ridden  in  this  fashion  many  a 
time  before. 

York  clung  like  a  huge  ape.  To  ride  bareback  was 
nothing  new  to  him.  Before,  the  captain  sat  as  if 
glued  fast.  Sha-ha-ka  could  sit  no  firmer  than  the 
Red  Head. 

The  breeze  was  keen,  whistling  past  one's  ears  and 
stinging  one's  cheeks.  But  see!  The  buffalo!  There 
were  hundreds,  in  a  writhing,  surging,  scampering,  be- 
wildered mass.  They  had  come  out  of  t^e  sheltered 
bottoms  to  feed  in  the  open,  and  the  Indians  had  espied 
them.  Now  around  and  around  them  sped  the  Indians, 
yelling,  volleying  arrows,  stabbing  with  lances,  work- 
ing at  the  mass,  cutting  out  animals  and  pursuing  them 
to  the  death.  The  hunters  from  the  fort  were  at  work, 

130 


EXCITEMENT  AT  FORT  MANDAN 

also.     Guns  puffed  little  clouds,  which  mingled  with 
the  greater  cloud  of  snow. 

Here  and  there  were  lying  buffalo  carcasses,  red- 
dening the  snow.  The  captain  and  Sha-ha-ka,  and1 
then  Peter  and  York,  began  to  pass  some,  and  the 
blood-stains  were  frequent.  Before,  other  buffalo  were 
staggering,  or  whirling  and  charging.  Indians  on  their 
ponies  dodged,  and  plied  their  arrows.  Peter  glimpsed 
One-eyed  Cruzatte,  and  Chaboneau — they  could  hardly 
be  told  from  the  Indians,  so  cleverly  they  managed  their 
ponies.  Sergeant  Pryor  had  been  thrown,  and  was 
running  afoot,  a  great  bull  after  him.  Ah! 

Chief  Sha-ha-ka  whooped  shrilly,  and  dropped  his 
buffalo-robe  about  his  thighs.  Captain  Clark  dropped 
his,  and  laid  arrow  on  bow.  Their  ponies  quickened, 
as  if  understanding. 

"  Gwan,  you  hoss !  Gwan !  "  implored  York,  ham- 
mering his  black  mount.  The  spotted  pony  also  leaped 
eagerly. 

With  a  loud  shout  Captain  Clark  charged  straight 
at  Sergeant  Pryor's  bull.  The  gray  horse  bore  him 
close  alongside,  on  the  right — the  proper  place.  When 
even  with  the  bull  the  captain  drew  bow,  clear  from 
hand  to  shoulder,  loosed  string — and  the  arrow,  swifter 
than  sight,  buried  to  the  feathers  just  back  of  the  bull's 
foreleg.  The  stung  bull  jumped  and  whirled ;  on  raced 
the  gray  horse,  and  wheeled ;  the  bull,  his  head  down, 
lunged  for  him — and  the  gray  horse  sprang  aside — 
the  bull  forged  past,  the  captain  was  ready  with  another 

131 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

arrow — twang !  thud ! — the  gray  horse  leaped  again,  to 
follow  up — but  the  great  bull  halted,  faltered,  drooped 
his  head,  his  tail  twitched  and  lashed,  still  his  head 
slowly  drooped,  he  straddled,  and  began  to  sink. 

"Catch  your  horse,  Pryor.  Quick!"  ordered  the 
captain.  "  You  can't  hunt  afoot."  And  before  the 
bull's  body  had  touched  the  snow  he  was  away  again, 
in  the  wake  of  the  frantic  herd,  his  red  hair  flaming 
on  the  wind. 

"  Fust  kill  foh  Marse  Will,"  jubilated  York.  He 
and  Peter  scarcely  had  had  time  to  check  their  horses. 
"  He  done  beat  Big  White.  Come  on,  boy !  " 

In  a  twinkling  all  was  confusion,  of  buffalo  bel- 
lowing, fleeing,  charging;  of  horsemen  shouting,  pur- 
suing, dodging,  shooting;  of  flying  snow  and  blood 
and  steaming  breaths  and  reek  of  perspiring  bodies. 
Peter  speedily  lost  York;  he  lost  Sha-ha-ka  and  Cap- 
tain Clark — but  occasionally  he  sighted  them,  now  sep- 
arated, now  near  together,  as  if  they  were  rivals.  He 
lost  everything  but  himself  and  pony  and  the  buffalo. 
He  shot,  too;  he  saw  his  arrows  land,  he  left  wounded 
buffalo  behind  and  chased  others;  and  ever  and  again 
he  saw  the  red  hair  of  the  captain. 

The  captain  was  in  his  buckskin  shirt;  Sha-ha-ka 
was  in  buckskin ;  many  of  the  Indians  rode  half  naked — 
excitement  kept  them  warm.  Peter  felt  no  cold, 
through  his  buckskin  and  his  flannel  shirt.  He  had 
been  more  thinly  clad  in  the  Oto  village  and  was  used 
to  weather.  But  bitter  was  the  wind,  nevertheless,  and 

132 


EXCITEMENT  AT  FORT  MANDAN 

the  wounds  of  the  prone  buffalo  almost  instantly  froze. 

The  chase  had  proceeded  for  a  mile — and  on  a  sud- 
den Chief  Big  White,  from  a  little  rise  in  a  clear  space, 
shouted  high  and  waved  his  robe.  It  was  the  signal 
for  the  hunt  to  cease.  The  turmoil  died,  the  frightened 
herd  rushed  on,  and  the  horsemen  dropped  behind,  to 
turn  back.  The  squaws  from  the  village  already  had 
been  at  work  with  their  knives,  cutting  up  the  dead 
buffalo.  They  must  work  fast,  on  account  of  the  cold. 
They  carefully  pulled  out  the  arrows  and  laid  them 
aside,  so  that  it  might  be  told  to  whom  that  buffalo 
belonged.  The  arrows  of  each  hunter  bore  his  mark, 
in  paint  on  the  shaft  or  the  feathers. 

Captain  Clark  rode  in,  panting  and  laughing,  with 
Sha-ha-ka.  His  quiver  was  empty,  his  buffalo-horse 
frost-covered  from  eye-brows  to  tail.  Sha-ha-ka 
treated  him  with  great  respect;  and  so  did  the  other 
Indians. 

"  Dey  say  de  Red  Head  one  great  chief.  He  ride 
an'  shoot  like  Injun,"  explained  Chaboneau,  as  the  com- 
pany from  the  fore  assembled. 

"  Marse  Will  kill  more  buff'los  dan  all  the  rest  ob 
dem  put  togedder,"  prated  York.  "  Only  he  done  run 
out  ob  arrers.  Den  he  try  to  choke  'em  wif  his  hands !  " 

Five  buffalo  were  credited  to  the  captain — his 
arrows  were  in  them.  Five  more  were  credited  to  the 
soldiers,  who  had  been  hampered  by  their  unsaddled 
horses  and  by  the  big  overcoats.  York  claimed  three 
of  the  five — but  nobody  could  believe  York.  The  ip,- 

133 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

terpreters — Chaboneau  and  Lepage  and  Jessaume — had 
made  their  own  kills,  for  their  families. 

"How  many  do  you  claim,  Peter?"  inquired  the 
captain,  with  a  smile. 

"  The  old  squaw  who  gave  me  the  horse  and  bow, 
she  owns  what  I  kill,"  answered  Peter,  carefully. 

For  there  she  was,  cutting  up  a  fat  cow,  from  which 
one  of  Peter's  arrows  protruded.  Peter  rode  over  to 
her. 

"  Mine,"  he  signed,  proudly. 

But  she  only  grinned  and  shook  her  head,  and 
pointed  to  his  pony  and  his  bow.  Then  she  handed  one 
of  his  arrows  to  him. 

"  Keep,"  she  said.    "  Keep  Sow.    Make  big  hunter." 

Understanding,  Peter  rode  away.  There  seemed  to 
be  plenty  of  meat,  but  a  good  bow  and  quiver  was  a 
prize.  So  he  was  willing  to  trade. 


IX 

PETER  WINS  HIS  SPURS 

To  twenty-one,  and  then  to  thirty-eight  below  zero 
dropped  the  thermometer.  The  captains  forbade  the 
men  to  venture  far  from  the  fort,  and  the  sentinels 
were  relieved  every  half  hour.  The  air  was  so  filled 
with  ice  haze  that  two  suns  seemed  to  be  shining. 

Of  course  not  much  work  could  be  done  out  of 
doors,  in  such  weather.  However,  with  the  first  warm 
spell,  at  twenty  above,  Pat,  the  boss  carpenter,  hustled 
his  squad  to  complete  the  fence.  Lustily  chopping  with 
broad-axes  they  rapidly  turned  out  pickets  that 
were  two  feet  wide,  four  inches  thick,  twelve  feet 
long  and  sharpened  at  both  ends.  These  were  set 
upright  in  a  shallow  ditch  and  spiked,  edge  against 
edge,  to  the  stringers. 

Finally  Pat  swung  the  heavy  gate  to  and  fro  on  its 
leathern  hinges;  it  closed  perfectly,  and  the  bar  that 
fastened  it  dropped  easily  into  place.  That  was  the 
last  touch,  and  Pat  heaved  a  sigh  of  relief. 

"  'Tis  a  good  job  well  done,  lads,"  he  complimented. 
"An*  jest  in  time.  To-morrow  we  cilibrate." 

"  Why,  Pat?  "  queried  Peter. 

"  Sure,  ain't  to-morrow  Christmas  ?  "  rebuked  Pat 
"  That's  a  new  wan  to  ye,  mebbe  ?  "  And  Peter  needs 
must  have  "  Christmas  "  explained  to  him. 

185 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

Yes,  the  captains  had  decided  to  celebrate.  They 
instructed  Chaboneau  to  tell  the  Mandans  that  on  the 
morrow  the  white  men  were  to  have  a  great  medicine 
day,  and  that  no  Indians  should  come  near.  That 
night,  in  the  mess  cabin,  Patrick  Gass  passed  another 
word. 

"  It's  all  o'  yez  up  'arly  in  the  mornin',  boys,"  he 
said.  "  We'll  wake  the  captains  with  thray  rounds,  so 
they'll  know  we've  not  forgot."  And  he  winked. 

In  his  bunk  Peter  was  roused  with  a  jump,  amidst 
the  grayness,  by  a  thunderous  noise.  He  sprawled  to 
the  floor — he  heard  a  voice  giving  sharp  orders,  and 
before  he  could  reach  the  door  there  was  another 
thunder.  Had  the  Sioux  come?  No!  It  was  Christ- 
mas, and  the  celebration  had  begun.  He  opened  the 
door — powder  smoke  wafted  into  his  nostrils,  the  men 
had  formed  two  lines  down  the  middle  of  the  street, 
their  rifles  were  leveled,  and  "  Whang !  "  they  all  spoke 
together. 

"  Hooray !  "  now  the  men  cheered. 

"  Christmas  Day  in  the  mornin' !  "  shouted  Pat, 
waving  his  cap.  The  door  of  the  captains'  cabin  opened 
and  the  captains  stood  gazing  out;  York's  black  face 
peering  over  their  shoulders.  "  Merry  Christmas  to 
yez,  sorrs,"  welcomed  Pat,  with  a  bow  and  a  scrape. 
"  It's  only  welcomin'  the  day,  we  are,  an'  christenin' 
the  flag  with  a  bit  o'  powder."  For  from  the  flag- 
staff in  the  street  floated  the  United  States  flag. 

"  Very  good,"  approved  Captain  Lewis.     "  Merry 

136 


PETEK  WINS  HIS  SPURS 

Christmas  to  each  of  you.  You  may  dismiss  the  men 
for  the  day,  Sergeant." 

What  a  jolly  day  this  day  of  Christmas  proved  to 
be.  Nobody  worked,  everybody  was  merry.  After 
breakfast  in  the  mess  hall,  which  was  a  cabin  with  a 
table  down  the  centre  seating  twenty  on  a  side,  and  a 
huge  fireplace  at  one  end,  and  a  loft  for  the  cooks  and 
their  supplies,  the  table  was  moved,  One-eyed  Cruzatte 
and  George  Gibson  tuned  their  fiddles,  and  the  men 
danced  and  capered. 

There  was  a  big  dinner,  of  juicy  meats,  stewed 
corn,  stewed  dried  pumpkin,  with  plum  pudding  at  the 
close.  The  captains  were  present,  in  uniform.  There 
was  more  dancing,  and  story-telling;  not  until  late  at 
night  was  the  fort  quiet.  All  the  Indians  had  kept 
away. 

Thus  was  passed  Christmas  Day,  1804,  at  this  first 
United  States  fort  west  of  St.  Louis,  1600  miles  up  the 
River  Missouri,  in  the  centre  of  a  North  Dakota  yet 
to  be  named. 

"  When  do  we  have  another  Christmas,  George  ?  " 
asked  Peter,  eagerly. 

"  Not  for  a  long  time,  Peter/'  laughed  George. 
"  Christmas  comes  only  once  a  year." 

For,  you  see,  Peter  had  a  great  deal  to  learn. 

Now  Fort  Mandan  settled  down  to  a  winter  rou- 
tine. The  United  States  flag  floated.  The  swivel  can- 
non from  the  barge  had  been  planted  in  the  street,  its 
muzzle  commanding  the  entrance.  Just  outside  the 

137 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

gate  a  sentry  constantly  paced,  by  day ;  another  sentry 
walked  a  beat  on  the  top  of  a  mound  of  earth  that 
half  circled  the  rear  of  the  fort  and  banked  the  store- 
rooms against  the  cold.  John  Shields,  the  blacksmith, 
established  his  forge — and  that,  also,  was  great  medi- 
cine. The  Indians  crowded  about  to  watch  the  bellows 
fan  the  charcoal  into  ruddy  heat.  Even  the  interpreters 
were  astonished,  when  John  set  to  work. 

"  Ma  foi !  "  exclaimed  Toussaint  Chaboneau.  "  I 
go  get  my  squaw's  kettle.  She  haf  one  hole  in  him." 

Away  he  ran,  and  returned  with  Sa-ca-ja-we-a, 
bringing  her  kettle.  A  gentle  little  woman  was  the 
girlish  Sa-ca-ja-we-a,  or  Bird-woman,  of  the  far  dis- 
tant Snake  nation;  everybody  was  fond  of  her.  John 
Shields  willingly  took  the  kettle,  and  patched  the  hole 
in  it ;  and  beaming  with  smiles  the  Bird-woman  hastened 
to  put  it  on  her  fire  again. 

But  the  wife  of  Jessaume  had  a  kettle  which  could 
not  be  mended;  and  very  indignant  and  jealous  she 
left  the  fort,  with  her  kettle  and  her  children,  and  went 
across  the  river  to  her  own  people. 

"  Huh !  "  said  Jessaume,  shrugging  his  shoulders. 
"  She  be  so  bad,  guess  I  get  'nodder  wife." 

John  Shields  not  only  mended  kettles  for  the 
women,  but  he  mended  the  battle-axes  and  tomahawks 
of  the  men.  From  scraps  of  sheet-iron  and  tin  he 
manufactured  a  marvelous  variety  of  articles — hide- 
scrapers,  punches,  arrow  points,  and  occasionally  a 
whole  battle-ax.  For  these,  the  Indians  from  the  vil- 

138 


PETER  WINS  HIS  SPURS 

lages  traded  corn  and  beans  and  dried  pumpkins,  so 
that  John  proved  to  be  a  valuable  workman. 

William  Bratton  and  Alexander  Willard  sometime* 
helped  him;  and  as  they  were  gun-smiths  too,  they 
repaired  the  rifles  of  the  expedition  and  the  few  fusils 
of  the  Indians. 

The  weather  blew  warm,  and  cold  again.  There 
were  hunting  excursions;  and  on  January  I,  1805, 
which,  Peter  learned,  was  called  New  Year's,  there 
was  another  celebration,  like  that  of  Christmas. 

"  Ze  Mandan,  dey  reques'  we  pay  visit  to  deir 
village  an'  show  ze  squaw  an'  boys  how  ze  white  mans 
dance,"  informed  Chaboneau,  in  the  morning,  after  a 
call  from  Big  White. 

So  the  captains  gave  permission  for  Cruzatte  and 
George  Gibson  to  take  their  violins,  and  for  York  and 
Patrick  Gass  and  a  dozen  others  to  go,  and  entertain 
the  village  of  Big  White. 

They  trapsed  gaily  across  the  river,  and  in  the  lodge 
of  Chief  Black  Cat,  who  lived  at  this  village,  Francois 
Labiche,  one  of  the  boat-men  from  Cahokia,  opposite 
St.  Louis,  danced  on  his  head  to  the  music  of  the  two 
fiddles,  and  thereby  greatly  astonished  the  Indians. 

The  village  rewarded  the  dancers  with  buffalo  robes 
and  corn;  and  that  evening  Head  Chief  Black  Cat 
brought  to  the  fort  another  quantity  of  meat  packed 
on  his  wife's  back. 

"  Let  the  white  medicine  dancers  visit  my  other 
villages,  or  there  will  be  jealousy,"  he  urged. 

139 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

"  I  will  haf  no  more  hair/'  complained  Francois 
Labiche. 

Forty  below  zero  sank  the  thermometer.  John 
Newman  froze  his  feet  so  badly  that  he  was  unable 
to  walk  in,  and  a  rescue  party  with  horses  were  sent 
to  get  him. 

Captain  Clark,  with  Chaboneau  as  guide,  led  a 
hunting  party  down-river,  with  the  thermometer  eigh- 
teen below.  Chaboneau  returned  alone,  to  say  that 
Captain  Clark  had  obtained  some  meat,  but  that  the 
horses  could  not  carry  it  on  the  slippery  ice. 

"  Your  wife  is  ill,  Chaboneau/'  informed  Captain 
Lewis.  And  Chaboneau  rushed  for  his  lodge. 

Forth  he  darted  again. 

"  My  wife  she  ver'  seeck,"  he  cried,  wringing  his 
hands.  "  Wat  s'all  I  do?  I  fear  she  die,  ma  pauvre 
Sa-ca-ja-we-a  (my  poor  Sa-ca-ja-we-a)." 

"  I'll  try  to  tend  to  her,  Toussaint,"  said  Captain 
Lewis ;  and  got  out  the  medicine  chest. 

But  all  that  night,  and  part  of  the  next,  day  the 
groans  of  the  little  Bird- woman  could  be  heard, 

"  Dere  is  one  remedy  I  hear  of,"  spoke  Jessaume. 
"  I  sorry  my  wife  lef '.  But  sometime  de  Injun  gif  de 
rattle  of  de  rattlesnake." 

"  Let's  try  that,  then,"  bade  Captain  Lewis. 

So  the  captain  broke  open  the  specimen  bales  in  the 
store-room  and  found  a  dried  rattlesnake  skin.  With 
Chaboneau  jumping  about  imploringly,  he  crumbled  two 
of  the  rattles  into  water,  and  this  the  suffering  Bird- 

140 


PETER  WIN  HIS  SPURS 

woman  drank.    Everybody  at  the  fort  was  interested. 

Soon  from  the  lodge  of  Chaboneau  issued  a  new 
sound — a  feeble,  shrill,  piping  wail.  But  the  groans  of 
Sa-ca-ja-we-a  had  ceased.  Out  again  darted  Chabon- 
eau, his  leather  face  beaming. 

"  One  fine  boy/'  he  shouted,  capering.  "  It  is  all 
right.  One  fine  boy.  I  t'ink  he  look  like  me." 

The  next  day,  which  was  February  12,  the  hunting 
party  returned,  having  left  their  meat  in  a  pen  to  pro- 
tect it  from  the  wolves. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  announce  a  new  recruit,  Cap- 
tain," reported  Captain  Lewis,  saluting  Captain  Clark, 
a  twinkle  in  his  eyes. 

"What's  his  name,  Merne?  Chaboneau?"  de- 
manded Captain  Clark,  smiling  broadly,  with  cold-red- 
dened face. 

"  He  is  leetle  Toussaint,"  proclaimed  Chaboneau. 
"  One  fine  boy  who  look  so  han'some  as  me." 

"  B'  gorry,"  uttered  Sergeant  Pat,  "  an  addition  to 
our  number,  is  it?  Faith,  he  has  good  lungs,  but  I 
thought  it  was  a  weasel  chasin'  a  rabbit." 

The  next  morning  four  men  and  three  horses  to 
haul  sleds  were  sent  down  to  get  the  meat ;  but  at  even- 
ing they  came  back  empty-handed.  A  hundred  Sioux 
had  robbed  them.  Captain  Lewis  set  out  at  sunrise,  to 
punish  the  robbers.  Only  three  or  four  Mandans  went. 
Chief  Black  Cat  said  that  his  young  men  were  out  hunt- 
ing, and  the  villages  had  few  guns,  so  his  people  could 
not  help  the  white  soldiers. 

141 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

Captain  Lewis  was  gone  six  days.  He  did  not 
overtake  the  Sioux,  but  he  brought  up  the  meat — part 
of  it  on  a  sled  drawn  by  fifteen  men. 

Mr.  Gravelines,  the  trader,  arrived  from  the  Arikara 
nation.  The  Sioux  sent  word  by  the  Arikaras  that 
they  would  hereafter  kill  the  white  soldiers  whenever 
they  caught  them. 

But  nobody  at  the  fort  minded  these  threats.  Febru- 
ary slipped  into  March,  and  all  thoughts  were  turned 
upon  the  onward  journey  as  soon  as  the  river  opened. 

The  thermometer  rose  to  forty  above  zero.  A  flock 
of  ducks  were  seen,  flying  up  stream. 

"  The  first  sign/'  quoth  Sergeant  Gass. 

The  weather  was  "  open  an'  shet,"  as  said  Pat,  with 
wind,  sunshine,  and  snow  flurries.  But  the  ice  in  the 
river  began  to  move,  a  little;  another  sign  of  spring. 
The  captains  decided  that  the  barge  was  to  be  sent 
back  to  St.  Louis,  with  the  specimens,  and  the  Corporal 
Warfington  squad  and  other  extra  men.  Under  the 
direction  of  Captain  Clark  and  Patrick  Gass,  the  car- 
penter, boat  timber  was  cut,  and  small  pirogues,  or 
canoes,  were  built,  to  take  the  place  of  the  barge.  John 
Shields  was  busy  all  the  days  long,  making  battle-axes 
to  trade  for  a  fresh  supply  of  corn. 

The  store-room  was  ransacked  and  the  clothing  and 
such  damp  stuff  was  hung  out  to  dry.  Great  strings 
of  geese  and  swans  and  ducks  passed,  northward  bound. 
The  rising  rivor  burst  into  a  channel ;  down  it  floated 

142 


PETER  WINS  HIS  SPURS 

ice  cakes,  carrying  buffalo,  elk  and  deer.  The  Indians, 
running  out  across  the  firmer  ice,  killed  them  with 
spears.  The  canoes  were  finished  and  brought  out  of 
the  timber,  and  to  the  bank  at  the  fort.  All  hands 
were  put  at  work  loading. 

This  was  an  anxious  time  for  Peter.  Was  he  to  be 
sent  down  with  the  barge,  or  was  he  to  be  taken  on, 
with  the  captains  and  Pat  and  all  ? 

"  I  go,"  announced  Chaboneau.  "  I  engage'  as  one 
interpreter,  for  ze  journey  to  ze  Rock  Mountains  an'  ze 
salt  ocean.  I  take  my  young  wife,  an'  my  baby,  but  I 
leave  my  ol'  wife." 

"  Do  I  go,  Pat?  "  queried  Peter. 

"  Well,  now,  I  dunno,"  drawled  Pat,  pausing  to 
wink  at  Toussaint.  "An'  what  would  we  do  with  a 
boy,  yonder  up  amongst  the  white  bear  an'  the  two- 
headed  Injuns?  For  I  hear  there  be  giants,  wearin' 
two  heads  on  their  shoulders.  Sure,  they'd  ate  a  boy 
with  only  one  o'  their  mouths." 

"  I  hunt,"  asserted  Peter. 

"  Would  ye  kill  bear  an'  buff'lo  with  the  bow  an' 
arrer?"  teased  Pat.  "Ain't  we  got  Drouillard  an' 
Fields  an'  the  captains  an'  meself,  all  handy  with  the 
gun?" 

"  I  show  you,  Pat,"  exclaimed  Peter. 

Two  steps  he  made,  and  grabbed  his  bow  and  quiver, 
where  they  were  lying  on  the  gunwale  of  the  barge. 
The  quiver  was  full  of  iron-pointed  arrows,  which 

10  143 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

John  Shields  had  equipped  for  him.  Out  he  ran,  upon 
the  ice  of  the  river.  His  quick  eye  had  noted  a  black 
object  floating  down  the  channel  aboard  a  floe.  No 
Indian  was  after  it,  yet.  He  would  show  that  he  was 
as  good  a  hunter  as  any  Indian. 

Buffalo?  Elk?  Deer?  Wah!  It  was  crouching, 
and  he  could  not  yet  tell.  But  fast  he  ran,  in  the  slush, 
dodging  air-holes,  and  with  the  ice  weaving  and  bend- 
ing beneath  him.  Suddenly,  as  he  approached,  heading 
off  the  floe,  the  creature  stood.  It  was  no  buffalo,  or 
elk,  or  deer ;  it  was  a  bear. 

Wah,  again!  Also,  hooray!  Voices  were  shout- 
ing at  him,  to  turn  back;  but,  no,  he  would  not  turn 
back,  even  for  a  bear.  He  was  a  hunter.  He  ran 
faster,  because  he  was  afraid  that  some  of  the  men 
would  come  with  guns. 

He  reached  the  edge  of  the  channel.  The  bear 
stiffened,  lowered  its  head,  and  bristled,  showing  every 
fang.  No  "  white  bear  "  was  it,  evidently.  It  was  a 
brown  bear,  but  an  old  one,  large  and  cross.  Below,  a 
few  yards,  the  channel  narrowed ;  the  floe  might  lodge 
there,  or  the  bear  be  enabled  to  spring  from  it  to  the 
other  ice.  Peter  must  act  quick.  He  knelt  and  bent  his 
bow — drew  the  arrow  clear  to  the  iron  point,  so  that 
his  arm  holding  the  bow  was  straight  and  the  hand 
of  the  other  arm  was  against  his  shoulder.  That  was 
the  way  to  shoot.  The  bear  was  right  in  front  of  him, 
balancing  on  the  ice  cake.  Twang- thud!  The  arrow 

144 


PETER  WINS  HIS  SPUES 

struck  true — was  buried  to  the  feathers  where  the  bear's 
neck  met  shoulder. 

Now  another!  Up  reared  the  bear,  roaring  and 
clawing,  and  the  floe  swerved  in  toward  the  channel's 
edge.  Peter  in  his  haste  to  pluck  a  second  arrow, 
string  it  and  launch  it,  slipped  and  fell  sideways — and 
on  the  instant  the  floe  had  touched  the  channel  edge, 
where  the  channel  narrowed;  roaring,  the  bear  had 
sprung  ashore,  and  roaring  he  was  coming,  the  arrow 
feathers  dripping  red  and  his  tongue  dripping  red,  and 
crimsoned  froth  slathering  his  open  jaws.  The  bristles 
on  his  back  were  full  six  inches  high. 

All  this  Peter  saw  in  a  twinkling.  He  had  time  only 
to  launch  his  arrow.  But  he  took  good  aim,  there  on 
his  knees ;  whang-thud ! — his  second  arrow  landed  near 
the  first ;  and  away  he  ran.  From  the  bank  at  the  fort 
men,  both  white  and  red,  were  running,  too;  running 
to  help  him.  They  waved  their  arms  and  weapons, 
shouted  loudly. 

Peter  changed  his  course.  They  should  not  help 
him.  He  would  show  Pat,  and  the  captains,  and  every- 
body, what  he  could  do.  He  glanced  over  his  shoulder. 
The  bear  was  close.  A  bear  could  easily  outrun  a  boy, 
or  a  man,  and  for  a  short  distance,  a  horse.  Aside 
leaped  Peter,  digging  in  his  moccasined  heels,  for  foot- 
hold in  the  soft  spots ;  another  arrow  was  on  the  bow- 
string; with  scratching  of  claws  and  furious  growl  the 
bear  slid  past.  But  Peter  had  turned  in  a  flash,  and 

145 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

while  turning  had  drawn  his  bow.  Whang-thud !  The 
arrow  sank  almost  out  of  sight  in  the  bear's  ribs, 
forward  where  the  heart  should  be. 

"  Hooray !  "  cheered  the  shouting  men. 

The  blow  had  knocked  the  bear  down.  He  went 
sliding,  in  a  struggling  heap.  Now  he  roared  indeed, 
and  twisting  his  head  bit  at  the  arrow.  Up  he  rose, 
sighted  Peter,  and  on  he  came.  Peter  lost  a  moccasin, 
his  foot  slipped.  He  stood  his  ground,  held  his  breath, 
and  took  very  careful,  cool  aim — bending  his  bow  till 
it  quivered  in  his  grasp.  A  moment  more,  and  the  bear 
would  rear,  to  .strike  him — and  he  loosed  the  taut  string. 
The  arrow  struck  the  bear  right  in  the  nape  of  the 
burly  neck ;  his  head  was  low,  bear  fashion,  and  Peter 
had  taken  the  chance.  Down  sprawled  the  bear,  as  if 
smitten  by  lightning,  for  the  arrow  point  had  cut  his 
spine.  He  shivered,  and  was  still.  The  four  feathered 
ends  jutted  from  his  hide.  He  was  a  dead  bear. 

"  Glory  be!  "  panted  Sergeant  Pat,  arriving.  "An' 
ye  did  it  all  by  yourself !  But,  sure,  I  thought  I  see  ye 
'aten  up  entoirely." 

"Huh!"  grunted  Little  Raven,  second  Mandan 
chief,  prodding  the  lax,  furry  carcass  with  his  spear. 
"  Heap  boy.  Make  big  hunter." 

All  together  they  dragged  the  bear,  at  the  end  of 
Pat's  belt,  to  the  barge.  Peter,  of  course,  said  nothing. 
But  when  Captain  Clark  clapped  him  roundly  on  the 
shoulder,  and  Captain  Lewis  said,  "  Well  done,  Peter," 

146 


PETER  WINS  HIS  SPURS 

he  knew  that  he  stood  a  good  chance  of  being  taken 
up-river.  The  Long  Knife  was  not  much  given  to  idle 
words;  but  he  appreciated  deeds.  The  bear  proved  to 
be  very  old,  very  thin,  with  tusks  worn  to  stubs. 
Hunger  had  driven  him  out  of  his  winter  hole  early. 
The  hair  of  his  hide  was  loose.  Nevertheless  he  was  a 
large  specimen, 

"  We'll  send  his  head  to  the  President,"  remarked 
Captain  Lewis  to  Captain  Clark.  "  No  such  bear  as 
this  can  be  found  in  Virginia  or  Kentucky/' 


X 

THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE  "WHITE  BEARS" 

APRIL  was  ushered  in  by  a  great  thunder-storm  of 
rain  mingled  with  hail.  That  speedily  cleared  the  river. 
The  rotted  ice  went  swirling  down,  and  soon  from  bank 
to  bank  the  Missouri  was  free. 

"  De  trail  is  open,"  said  old  Cruzatte. 

"How  far  to  the  Rock  Mountains,  Pat?"  asked 
Peter. 

"Another  thousand  miles,  I  hear  tell.  An'  after 
that,  another  thousand  miles  to  the  big  ocean." 

"  How  do  we  get  over  the  mountains,  Pat?  " 

Pat  scratched  his  carroty  thatch,  and  reflectively 
rubbed  his  stubbled  chin. 

"  Faith,  an'  I  dunno.  Trust  to  the  commandin' 
officers,  I  guiss.  That's  the  proper  way  for  soldiers. 
We'll  find  a  gate  some'ers.  There  be  some  tremenjous 
falls  to  get  around,  fust,  say  the  Injuns." 

"  Sa-ca-ja-we-a  know,"  proudly  asserted  Chabon- 
eau.  "  Her  peoples  lif  dere,  in  ze  mountains,  beyond 
dose  falls.  She  speak  ze  Snake  tongue." 

"  I  gwine  to  kill  one  ob  dem  white  b'ars,"  boasted 
York. 

All  the  fort  was  in  a  fever  of  impatience — the  down- 
river men  to  be  on  their  way  "  back  to  the  United 
States,"  as  they  expressed  it;  the  up-river  men  to  be 

148 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE  "WHITE  BEARS" 

on  their  way  into  a  new  country  never  explored  by 
white  foot.  Long  letters  were  being  scrawled,  for  the 
"  folks  at  home,"  telling  them  of  the  past  year's  ad- 
ventures ;  Captain  Lewis  was  busy  preparing  his  report 
to  the  President;  Captain  Clark  was  laboring  nights, 
by  fire-light,  putting  final  touches  on  a  map  of  the 
Missouri,  based  upon  a  ruder  map  sketched  by  Little 
Raven,  the  Mandan,  with  charcoal  on  a  buffalo  hide. 
Baptiste  Lepage  and  Chaboneau  helped,  for  they,  also, 
had  been  many  days'  travel  westward,  trading  with  the 
Cheyennes  and  the  Minnetarees. 

Only  John  Newman  was  sad  at  heart.  Captain 
Lewis  had  decreed  that  he  be  returned  to  St.  Louis  at 
the  first  opportunity.  The  opportunity  was  near.  John 
pleaded  to  be  permitted  to  go  on  with  his  comrades. 
He  wanted  to  make  good.  Already  he  had  showed  that 
he  was  repentant  of  his  brief  bad  conduct.  Had  he  not 
worked  faithfully,  and  even  frozen  his  feet? 

Captain  Clark  might  have  yielded  to  him,  but  Cap- 
tain Lewis  was  sterner. 

"  No,  John,"  he  said,  again.  "  I  must  make  an 
example  of  you,  I  cannot  run  the  risk  of  any  more 
mutinous  talk.  We  have  two  thousand  miles  before  us, 
and  the  party  must  all  work  together.  You  will  return 
to  St.  Louis  on  the  barge.  Later,  if  your  good  conduct 
continues,  I  will  request  the  President  to  over- 
look your  offense  and  you  will  be  granted  an 
honorable  discharge." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  replied  John  Newman,  saluting.    "  But 

149 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

it's  pretty  tough,  sir.     I'd  rather  take  another  lickin', 


sir." 


However,  in  time,  John  did  receive  honorable  dis- 
charge, and  was  granted  the  320. acres  of  land  and  the 
extra  pay  allowed  to  the  other  men. 

April  7  was  the  day  for  breaking  camp.  By  five 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  boats,  loaded  and  manned — 
the  barge  for  down-river,  the  six  canoes  and  the  two 
pirogues  for  up-river — were  being  held  at  the  bank, 
waiting  only  for  the  captains'  orders. 

"Ready,  barge?"  called  Captain  Lewis. 

John  Newman  gripped  the  last  of  the  hands  ex- 
tended to  him  by  his  former  comrades,  and  clambered 
aboard.  He  and  five  of  the  Corporal  Warfington 
privates-  from  St.  Louis  were  the  guard.  The  sixth 
private,  Moses  B.  Reed,  was  being  returned  as  a  pris- 
oner, for  he  had  attempted  to  desert,  with  his  musket 
and  other  government  equipment.  Corporal  Warfing- 
ton was  in  command.  Trader  Gravelines  was  the  pilot. 
Two  French  boatmen  were  the  crew.  Chief  Brave 
Raven,  and  two  other  Arikaras  who  had  accompanied 
Mr.  Graveljnes  up  from  the  Arikara  village,  also  were 
aboard.  They  were  going  on  to  Washington  to  see 
their  great  white  father. 

For  President  Jefferson  were  being  sent  Captain 
Clark's  journal  and  map,  and  Captain  Lewis's  report  to 
this  very  date.  And  many  hide  and  wooden  boxes  of 
specimens  and  trophies :  two  stuffed  antelope,  a  white 
weasel  pelt  entire,  squirrels  that  had  been  brought  by 

150 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE  "WHITE  BEARS" 

the  Minnetarees  clear  from  the  Rocky  Mountains,  dried 
prairie  dogs,  mountain  sheep  and  elk  and  deer  horns, 
a  painted  buffalo  robe  picturing  a  battle  of  Mandans 
and  Minnetarees  against  Sioux  and  Arikaras,  a  beau- 
tiful shield  made  and  decorated  by  Chief  Black  Cat 
especially  for  the  great  white  father,  Peter's  bear  head, 
a  yellow  bear  hide  and  other  furs,  Indian  shirts  and 
leggins  and  moccasins,  a  Mandan  bow  and  battle-ax, 
and  even  an  ear  of  the  red  Mandan  corn.  And  three 
cages  containing  a  live  ground  squirrel,  a  prairie  hen, 
and  four  magpies. 

Not  until  ten  months  later  did  these  wonders  arrive 
at  Washington. 

"All  ready,  sir,"  responded  Corporal  Warfington, 
to  the  captain. 

"  Give  way." 

Out  pushed  the  barge.  Captain  Lewis  drew  his 
sword. 

"  Present !  Ready !  Fire !  "  he  shouted.  And  every 
rifle,  of  canoes  and  pirogues,  cracked  in  a  volley. 

"  For  the  United  States,"  murmured  Patrick  Gass. 
"Arrah — but  good  luck  to  'em." 

Then  into  the  white  pirogue  sprang  Captain  Lewis. 

"  Give  way,"  he  cried,  standing  beside  Captain 
Clark;  and  out  were  shoved  the  eight  boats  together. 
Captain  Lewis  nodded  at  Gunner  Willard. 

"  Boom !  "  spoke  the  swivel  cannon,  in  farewell  to 
the  shore. 

Sha-ha-ka  and  other  Indians  had  come  over  in  skin 
151 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

canoes  to  bid  the  Long  Knife  and  the  Red  Head  goodby. 
They  stood,  and  gazed,  and  made  no  sign.  They  would 
wait,  and  take  care  of  the  white  fathers'  fort. 

"We'll  be  back,"  declared  the  buoyant  George 
Shannon,  as  he  bent  to  an  oar.  "  Stay  where  you  are, 
old  fort.  We'll  be  back  in  the  fall  and  light  your  winter 
fires  again."  For  the  captains  thus  had  figured. 

"  We  locked  the  gates,  but  sure  the  Injuns  '11  be 
climbin'  over  the  fince  before  we're  out  o'  sight," 
grunted  Sergeant  Pat 

The  wind  was  almost  dead  ahead.  With  oars  and 
paddles  the  men  settled  to  their  work.  Now  the  party 
numbered  thirty-three,  and  Peter. 

There  were  the  two  captains — Captain  Meriwether 
Lewis  and  Captain  William  Clark  (to  each  other 
"Merne"  and  "Will"),  from  Virginia  and  Ken- 
tucky; and  Sergeants  John  Ordway,  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, Nathaniel  Pryor  and  Patrick  Case ;  and  Privates 
William  Bratton  of  Captain  Lewis's  state  (Virginia)  ; 
Alexander  Willard  from  John  Ordway's  state,  and 
John  Shields,  of  Kentucky,  the  three  smiths;  Reuben 
Fields  and  Joseph  Fields,  brothers,  John  Colter,  Joseph 
Whitehouse,  William  Werner,  who  like  Pryor  and 
Shields,  were  from  Captain  Clark's  state,  Kentucky; 
John  Collins,  of  Maryland;  John  Thompson,  the  sur- 
veyor, from  Indiana ;  Robert  Frazier,  of  Vermont ;  the 
handsome,  merry  George  Shannon  from  Ohio  and 
Pennsylvania  both;  George  Gibson,  the  fiddler,  Hugh 
McNeal,  John  Potts,  Peter  Wiser,  all  from  the  same 

152 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE  "WHITE  BEARS" 

place  as  Pat  and  George — Pennsylvania ;  Silas  Goodrich 
and  Thomas  Howard  and  Hugh  Hall,  of  Massachu- 
setts; Dick  Windsor,  said  to  hail  also  from  Massa- 
chusetts. 

Peter  knew  them  all;  fine  men;  but  he  liked  Pat 
and  George  Shannon  the  best. 

Then,  there  were  the  Frenchmen :  gay  old  Cruzatte, 
with  his  one  eye  and  his  lively  fiddle ;  Francois  Labiche, 
the  boatman  who  danced  on  his  head ;  Baptiste  Lepage, 
who  joined  at  the  Mandan  villages  to  take  the  place  of 
one  Liberte  who  had  run  away ;  George  Drouillard,  the 
hunter;  Chaboneau  and  Sa-ca-ja-we-a,  the  Bird-woman, 
who  was  to  help  the  party  into  the  mountains  and  make 
friends  of  the  Snakes.  And  little  Toussaint,  the  beady- 
eyed  baby — a  great  pet. 

And  York,  black,  enormous  York,  the  great  medi- 
cine, whom  all  the  Indians  so  highly  respected. 

Yes,  this  was  a  glorious  company,  from  which  a 
boy  might  learn  much. 

So,  in  a  line,  the  eight  boats  proceeded  up  the  Mis- 
souri, through  present  North  Dakota.  The  wind  blew 
sometimes  fair,  sometimes  adverse;  sometimes  so 
strong  that  it  lifted  the  fine  sand  in  dense  clouds  above 
the  river  and  the  men's  eyes  were  made  sore.  Captain 
Lewis's  tightly-cased  watch  stopped  and  would  not  run. 

At  the  end  of  the  first  week,  when  the  night's  camp 
was  breaking  up,  for  the  day's  journey,  George  Shan- 
non espied  a  black  animal  slinking  through  the  grass. 

"  Wolf !  "  uttered  Pat.     "An*  a  black  wan,  for  the 
153 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLAKK 

captains'  collection.    Wait  till  I  draw  a  bead  an  him." 

"  No !  That's  a  dog,  Pat !  "  And  George  whistled. 
"  Don't  shoot." 

The  black  animal  crept  toward  George,  stomach  to 
earth,  tail  wagging. 

"Assiniboine  dog,"  pronounced  Chaboneau.  "  He 
sled  dog.  Draw  ze  sled  in  winter,  an'  ze  travois — ze 
lodge  pole,  in  summer.  He  from  dat  ol'  camp  we  see 
yesterday.  Mus'  be  los',  poor  leetle  dog." 

"  He's  only  a  puppy,  and  nigh  starved,"  said  George, 
patting  him. 

So  the  black  shaggy  little  dog  was  taken  along. 

That  night  at  camp  Lepage  and  Chaboneau  con- 
sulted together. 

"  I  never  been  up-river  furder  dan  dees,"  announced 
Baptiste.  "  I  t'ink  once  I  stop  right  at  dees  spot,  an' 
turn  back.  Chaboneau,  he  stop  once  'bout  t'ree  mile 
below." 

"  Then  it's  our  own  trail  from  here  on,"  spoke  John 
Shields. 

Where  North  Dakota  and  Montana  meet,  George 
Drouillard  was  sent  out  to  explore  south  up  the  Yellow- 
stone River.  He  returned  with  report  of  many  sand- 
bars and  much  coal. 

Beyond  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone,  in  the  morn- 
ing of  October  26,  while  the  boats  were  slowly  sailing 
on  up  the  Missouri,  Captain  Lewis  suddenly  appeared, 
at  a  clear  spot  on  the  bank,  and  signaled  with  a  rifle- 
shot. 

154 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE  "WHITE  BEAKS" 

"  Faith,  the  cap'n's  been  in  a  hurry,"  observed 
Patrick  Gass,  as  the  boats  turned  in. 

And  so  he  evidently  had.  He  was  still  out  of 
breath. 

"We've  killed  a  large  white  bear,"  he  panted. 
"  Some  of  you  men  come  and  help  Drouillard  bring 
him  down." 

"  Good  work,  Merne,"  called  Captain  Clark.  And 
enough  men  tumbled  ashore  to  carry  half  a  dozen  bears. 

Cruzatte  ran,  Peter  ran,  the  Fields  brothers  ran; 
all  ran.  Back  a  few  hundred  yards  they  found 
Drouillard  working  with  his  knife  on  the  carcass  of 
a  bear. 

"  No !  Let's  fetch  him  down  entire,  for  the  whole 
crowd  to  see,"  cried  Reuben  Fields.  "  He's  a  sock- 
dologer.  Look  at  him,  Joe !  " 

"  He  not  so  ver'  beeg — but  he  beeg  plenty," 
averred  Cruzatte. 

"Who  shot  him,  Drouillard?" 

"  De  cap'n  an'  me,  both,"  answered  Drouillard. 
"  Dere  was  two.  De  one  we  woun',  he  get  away. 
Dis  odder  we  woun',  an'  my  gracious,  he  chase  de 
cap'n.  He  chase  him  seventy,  eighty  yard,  but  he 
bad  hurt,  could  no  run  quite  so  fas'  as  de  cap'n.  De 
cap'n  load  hees  gun  while  he  run,  an'  shoot  again— 
bang!  Bear  no  fall.  I  come,  aim  queeck — bang! 
Dis  time  bear  fall.  But  my  gracious,  he  ver'  tough 
to  keel." 

They  dragged  the  huge  carcass  to  the  shore.     It 

155 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

weighed  300  pounds.  "Young  bear/'  declared 
Drouillard.  Everybody  crowded  about,  to  examine 
its  fur  (which  was  not  white  at  all,  but  was  yel- 
lowish), its  long  claws  and  tusks,  its  little,  deep-set 
black  eyes. 

"  Dis  chile  dunno,"  stammered  York,  his  own  eyes 
popping.  "  Mebbe  he  ain't  gwine  to  look  foh  dis  kind 
ob  b'ar.  If  he  jes'  a  young  b'ar,  what  mought  his 
daddy  be?  Hoo!" 

"  Don't  you  or  the  men  take  any  chances  with  these 
animals,  Will,"  cautioned  Captain  Lewis,  to  Captain 
Clark.  "  There  are  lots  of  signs  of  them  now." 

Captain  Clark  and  Reuben  Fields  did  take  a  chance, 
a  few  days  later.  In  the  dusk  they  met  a  monster 
brown  bear  (which  was  a  better  name  for  it  than  white 
bear,  although  grizzly  bear  is  better  still)  not  far  from 
the  evening  camp.  When  they  shot  together,  he  roared 
so  loudly  that  the  very  air  shook,  but  fortunately  he 
tried  to  escape.  They  followed  him  and  shot  him  eight 
times  more;  and  even  then  he  swam  clear  into  the 
middle  of  the  river,  and  died  on  a  sand-bar. 

It  was  quite  a  job  to  get  him  into  camp.  He 
weighed  about  600  pounds.  The  captains  measured 
him.  From  his  hind  feet  to  his  nose  was  eight  feet, 
seven  and  a  half  inches ;  he  was  five  feet,  seven  and  a 
half  inches  around  the  chest,  three  feet,  eleven  inches 
around  the  neck,  and  one  foot,  eleven  inches  around 
the  fore-legs !  His  heart  was  as  large  as  an  ox-heart, 
and  his  claws  four  and  one-half  inches  in  length. 

150 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE  "WHITE  BEARS" 

But  William  Bratton  "  caught "  the  worst  bear,  to 
date.  About  five  o'clock  the  boats  were  just  being 
landed,  for  night  camp,  when  a  great  crashing  and 
shouting  were  heard ;  out  from  the  brush  burst  William, 
and  bolted,  staggering  and  gesturing,  for  the  nearest 
boat.  He  had  lost  his  hat,  his  buckskin  suit  was  torn, 
he  could  scarcely  speak. 

"Another  man  in  a  hurry, "  quoth  Patrick  Gass,  as 
everybody  reached  for  a  gun.  "  Injuns,  mebbe?  " 

"  He-he-help !  "  panted  William,  lunging  into  the 
shallows  and  fairly  falling  across  the  gunwale  of  the 
white  pirogue. 

"Speak,  man!  What's  the  matter?"  demanded 
Captain  Lewis. 

William  heaved  and  gasped. 

"  Bear !  White  bear !  Chasing  me — close  behind." 
Puff.  Puff.  "  Shot  him — chased  me — mile  and  a  half 
— almost  caught  me.  Look  out !  " 

"  Whereabouts  ?    Which  direction  ?  " 

"  Down  river — back  in  brush,  sir." 

"  Hah !  "  exclaimed  the  captain.  "  I'll  go  after 
him.  Drouillard,  the  two  Fields,  Willard,  Potts, 
Shields,  Pryor,  come  with  me.  Bratton's  found  another 
bear.  Want  to  go,  York?  '* 

"  Nossuh,  nossuh !  "  asserted  York,  with  decisive 
emphasis.  "  I'd  like  to  go  mighty  well,  Marse  Merne, 
but  I  got  to  stay  right  hyah  an'  take  keer  ob  Marse 
Will." 

Away  hastened  Captain  Lewis  and  the  seven  men. 

157 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

All  eyes  scanned  the  shore,  and  many  tongues  plied  the 
exhausted  hunter  with  questions.  He  said  that  after 
shooting  the  bear  he  had  run  a  mile  and  a  half,  with 
the  bear  roaring  and  floundering  behind  him,  but  unable 
quite  to  overtake  him  because  of  its  wound. 

In  about  an  hour  back  came  the  hunting  party,  into 
camp — Alec  Willard  and  John  Shields,  who  were  the 
two  largest  members,  weighted  down  with  an  enormous 
hide  and  a  great  quantity  of  fat. 

They  all  said  that  after  following  Bratton's  trail 
back,  for  a  mile,  they  had  come  upon  the  bloody  trail 
of  the  bear.  He  had  turned  aside  and  had  gone  another 
mile,  until  he  had  stopped,  to  dig  a  hole  or  bed  two  feet 
deep  and  five  feet  long.  There  they  had  killed  him. 

"An'  he  ought  to  've  been  dead  long  before,"  de- 
clared John  Shields.  "  Bratton  had  shot  him  straight 
through  the  chest.  He  was  a  tough  one." 

"  Faith,  as  the  cap'n  says,  it's  safer  to  fight  two 
Injuns  together  than  wan  white  b'ar  by  hisself,"  pro- 
claimed Pat. 

The  fat  of  this  bear  yielded  eight  gallons  of  oil, 
for  greasing  the  guns  and  keeping  the  men's  hair  slick. 

On  the  third  day  after,  six  of  the  men  had  a  pitched 
battle  with  another  bear.  He  put  them  all  to  flight — 
almost  caught  several  of  them;  and  did  not  fall  until 
he  had  been  shot  eight  times.  And  while  this  was 
going  on  at  the  shore,  Cruzatte's  canoe,  out  in  the 
stream,  narrowly  escaped  a  fatal  upset. 

A  gust  of  wind  struck  the  sail,  while  Chaboneau 

158 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  THE  "WHITE  BEARS" 

was  steering.  Chaboneau  lost  his  head,  dropped  the 
oar,  began  to  cry  aloud  with  fright.  The  canoe  tilted, 
tilted,  water  flowed  in — and  over  on  its  side  turned  the 
boat.  The  sail's  rope  had  been  jerked  out  of  Cruzatte's 
hand. 

"  Seize  de  rudder,  Toussaint !  Ketch  de  rope — 
queeck !  Pull  on  de  sail !  We  all  drown !  Do  de  right 
t'ing  or  I  shoot  you !  "  ordered  Cruzatte,  scrambling 
along  the  gunwale. 

Only  young  Sa-ca-ja-we-a  was  calm.  Holding  her 
baby,  she  reached  right  and  left  and  gathered  the 
articles  that  were  floating  off.  In  a  moment  more  the 
canoe  righted,  but  was  full  of  water.  Baling  and  row- 
ing, the  men  got  her  beached  just  in  time. 

"  Dat  stupid  Chaboneau!  Hees  wife  is  better  man 
dan  heem,"  scolded  Drouillard.  "  He  near  los'  all  de 
fine  instruments  an'  de  papers  of  the  captains.  Mebbe 
drown  ever'body,  too." 

As  it  was,  a  great  deal  of  medicine  had  been  spoiled 
by  the  soaking. 

The  six  victors  over  the  one  bear  brought  him  in 
at  last.  Because  of  the  battle,  this  place  was  known  as 
Brown-bear-defeated  Creek. 


XI 

WHICH  WAY  TO  THE  COLUMBIA? 

"  WIRRAH,  but  tired  I  am !  "  groaned  Patrick  Gass. 

It  was  June  3,  and  in  the  nineteen  days  they  had 
come  more  than  300  miles  from  Brown-bear-defeated 
Creek.  What  with  the  constant  wading  and  tugging 
to  conquer  the  narrow,  swift  current  and  the  strong 
head  winds,  well  might  all  groan. 

Night  alarms  had  disturbed  the  camps.  Once  the 
men  had  been  aroused  only  just  in  time  to  drag  the 
captains'  hide  lodge  away  from  a  spot  upon  which  a 
burning  tree  was  about  to  fall;  and,  again,  a  stupid 
buffalo  bull  had  charged  through,  and  only  the  little 
black  dog  had  saved  the  camp  from  much  damage. 

But  the  Rock  or  Shining  Mountains  were  nearer. 
On  Sunday  a  week  ago  Captain  Lewis,  climbing  a  hill, 
had  seen  them,  to  the  west.  The  Sho-sho-nes  or  Snake 
Indians  might  be  expected  any  day.  Their  country 
was  near,  also. 

Now  the  river  had  split :  one  branch  for  the  north, 
one  for  the  southward ;  and  the  captains  did  not  know 
which  branch  to  follow.  So  they  ordered  camp  here 
at  the  forks,  below  present  Fort  Benton  in  north  central 
Montana. 

A  travel-worn  camp  it  was,  too — of  bearded,  long- 
haired men,  their  buckskin  and  elk-hide  suits  shriveled 

160 


WHICH  WAY  TO  THE  COLUMBIA? 

by  water,  their  moccasins  in  tatters,  their  hands  blis- 
tered and  their  feet  sore  from  rocks  and  the  prickly- 
pear  cactus. 

"  De  norf  branch — she  de  true  Missouri,"  asserted 
old  Cruzatte.  "  See  how  swift  an'  muddy  she  is,  jus' 
like  de  Missouri.  Am'  dat  so,  Drouillard?  " 

Drouillard  nodded. 

"  I  sartin  she  true  Missouri.  I  lif  on  Missouri  most 
my  life,  an'  I  know.  De  odder  stream  too  clear  an* 
smooth." 

"  For  that  very  r'ason  it  comes  out  o'  the  Rock 
Mountains,  'cordin'  to  the  cap'ns,"  put  in  Pat.  "An' 
the  bed  of  it  be  round  stones,  the  same  as  are  fetched 
down  out  o'  the  mountains.  Not  but  what  I  favor  the 
north  branch  myself,  as  the  more  likely  direction.  We'll 
find  the  Columby  across  to  the  north,  an'  not  to  the 
south,  I'm  thinkin'." 

"  The  Minnetarees  down  at  the  Mandan  town  told 
us  the  Missouri  was  clear,  at  its  head,  didn't  they?" 
queried  George  Shannon.  "And  there  are  some  big 
falls  to  pass." 

"  Mebbe  de  nort'  branch  get  clear,  in  leetle  time," 
argued  Drouillard.  "  She  de  true  Missouri,  for  de 
Columby." 

"  Oui.  So  t'ink  we  all,"  agreed  Cruzatte  and 
Chaboneau  and  Lepage  and  Labiche.  "  De  odder 
branch  go  too  far  sout'." 

This  was  the  opinion  of  the  majority  of  the  men. 
But 

161 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

"  We've  got  to  be  might  careful,"  argued  George. 
"  The  Missouri  and  the  Columbia  are  supposed  to  head 
right  near  each  other,  the  one  on  this  side  the  moun- 
tains, the  other  on  'tother  side.  It  would  be  a  bad 
mess  if  we  crossed  and  found  we  were  in  the  wrong 
place.  We  haven't  any  time  to  lose." 

Evidently  so  thought  the  captains.  For  the  next 
day  Captain  Lewis  took  Drouillard,  Sergeant  Nat 
Pryor  and  several  others,  to  explore  by  foot  up  the 
north  fork.  Captain  Clark  took  Chaboneau,  Sergeant 
Pat  and  several  others,  to  explore  up  the  south  fork. 
Peter  and  the  rest  of  the  men  remained  at  camp,  to- 
gether with  Sa-ca-ja-we-a  and  little  Toussaint. 

This  gave  them  the  opportunity  to  sit  in  their  bare 
feet,  mend  their  moccasins  and  leggins,  and  pick  green 
wild  currants  and  ripe  wild  gooseberries.  Sa-ca-ja- 
we-a,  who  was  always  busy,  dressed  a  doe-skin  for 
herself  and  little  Toussaint. 

The  Captain  Clark  party  returned  on  the  third  day, 
in  the  rain.  They  had  gone  up  along  the  south  branch 
about  forty  miles — had  walked  about  100  miles,  all 
told,  said  Pat,  with  a  wry  face  and  a  limp;  Reuben  had 
been  chased  so  shrewdly  by  a  big  bear,  after  his  gun 
had  missed  fire,  that  in  climbing  a  tree  he  kicked  the 
bear's  mouth,  and  as  nobody  could  get  to  the  tree  the 
bear  had  kept  Reuben  there  for  an  hour ;  rain  and  snow 
both  had  made  the  trip  uncomfortable — but  the  river 
appeared  to  lead  west  of  south,  and  the  captain  was 
convinced  that  it  was  the  true  Missouri. 

162 


WHICH  WAY  TO  THE  COLUMBIA? 

"  He's  the  commandin'  officer ;  still  I  don't  agree 
with  him,"  said  Pat.  "An'  I  hope  he's  wrong,  for  the 
other  river's  the  'asier.  I'd  rather  sail  in  a  boat  than 
on  foot,  any  day." 

"  Did  you  sight  any  falls,  Pat?  "  asked  Joe  Fields. 

"  Niver  a  fall — but  I  felt  some,"  answered  Pat. 

Captain  Lewis  was  yet  out.  He  and  his  party  did 
not  return  this  evening,  nor  the  next  day;  and  on  the 
following  day  everybody  was  worried  about  them.  But 
that  afternoon  at  five  o'clock  they  came  toiling  in, 
hungry,  soaked  with  the  cold  rain,  and  weary  after  a 
five  days'  tramp  of  120  miles. 

"  I'm  glad  to  see  you,  Merne,"  exclaimed  Captain 
Clark,  his  face  lighting  up  amidst  his  thick  red  hair  and 
shaggy  red  beard.  "  What's  the  news  ?  " 

"  We've  been  along  the  north  fork  sixty  miles  and 
it  doesn't  head  toward  any  mountains.  I  don't  believe 
it's  the  Missouri,  although  Drouillard  insists  it  must 
be." 

"  I  don't  believe  so,  either,  Merne.  The  south  fork 
looks  the  better  of  the  two,  to  me."  And  they  paced 
together  to  their  lodge. 

It  was  a  cheery  crowd,  in  spite  of  the  dangers  and 
discomforts  and  the  hard  work.  That  evening  the  sky 
had  cleared,  there  was  a  big  supper  of  venison,  the  feet 
of  the  men  who  had  stayed  in  camp  were  about  well, 
and  Cruzatte  tuned  up  his  fiddle  for  a  dance. 

Toward  noon  of  the  next  day,  Sunday,  June  9,  a 
parade  was  ordered,  to  hear  what  the  captains  had 

163 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEY/IS  AND  CLARK 

decided.  The  men  left  their  tasks  of  dressing  skins 
and  repairing  weapons,  and  fell  in,  under  their 
sergeants. 

Captain  Lewis  stood  straight  and  slim  before  them, 
in  his  fringed  but  stained  buckskin  suit.  His  bright 
hair  was  tied  in  a  queue  behind,  and  he,  like  Captain 
Clark,  had  grown  a  beard — yellow  as  his  hair. 

"  Captain  Clark  and  I  have  consulted  together, 
men,"  he  said.  "  We  have  examined  our  maps,  and 
compared  our  notes;  and  we  believe  that  the  southern 
fork  is  the  true  Missouri.  It  has  all  the  signs  of  a 
mountain  stream,  the  Indians  never  have  mentioned 
passing  any  south  fork  in  order  to  proceed  on  to  the 
great  falls,  and  this  south  fork  certainly  bears  off  for 
those  snowy  mountains  to  the  southwest  which  are  un- 
doubtedly the  Rock  Mountains  that  divide  the  waters 
of  the  Missouri  and  the  Columbia.  Accordingly  we 
will  take  the  south  fork.  That  we  have  chosen  as  the 
Missouri ;  the  north  fork  I  have  had  the  honor  to  en- 
title Maria's  River,  as  a  tribute  to  my  cousin  in  Vir- 
ginia, Miss  Maria  Wood,  of  Charlottesville." 

"  Do  you  wish  to  hear  from  any  of  the  men,  Cap- 
tain? "  inquired  Captain  Clark.  "  Some  of  them  may 
have  an  opinion  to  offer." 

"  Well,  they  favor  the  north  fork,  I  understand," 
answered  the  captain,  with  a  smile.  "  I'll  be  glad  to 
hear  what  they  may  say." 

Who  was  to  speak?  Patrick  Gass,  of  course.  Pat 
coughed,  and  saluted. 

164 


WHICH  WAY  TO  THE  COLUMBIA? 

"  What  is  it,  Sergeant?  Go  ahead.  Speak  up,  man." 

"  It's  this  way,  sorr — Captain,  sorr.  Yez  are  the 
commandin'  officers — ye  an'  Cap'n  Clark,  an'  if  yez 
say  the  south  fork  be  the  Missouri,  o'  course  the  Mis- 
souri it  is,  an7  we'll  all  follow  yez,  sorr.  Sure,  all  we're 
afraid  of,  sorr,  is  that  we  get  down  yonder  at  the  foot 
o'  the  snowy  mountains,  an'  on  the  other  side  there 
won't  be  anny  C'lumby  at  all,  sorr.  But  we'll  go  with 
yez,  sorr,  if  that's  where  yez  go.  Thank  yez,  sorr." 
And  Patrick  saluted  again,  quite  out  of  breath. 

"  Captain  Clark  and  I  will  take  the  responsibility. 
We'll  try  the  south  fork,  men,"  declared  Captain  Lewis. 
"  Parade  is  dismissed." 

"  Thray  cheers  for  the  captains,  boys,"  shouted 
Patrick  Gass.  And  as  the  parade  broke,  into  the  air 
was  flung  every  cap  and  hat  and  every  voice  rang  true. 

Immediately  preparations  were  begun.  The  heavy 
baggage  and  the  extra  supplies  were  to  be  left  here, 
and  so  was  one  of  the  pirogues.  Men  were  set  at  work 
digging  a.  large  hole  in  which  to  store  the  goods.  It 
was  to  be  kettle  shaped — small  at  the  top,  then  hol- 
lowed out,  round,  until  it  was  six  or  seven  feet  deep. 
The  soil  was  dumped  upon  blankets  and  robes,  and 
thrown  into  the  river,  so  that  there  should  be  no  trace  of 
any  digging,  lest  the  Indians  find  and  rob.  The  bottom 
and  sides  were  to  be  lined  with  dry  brush  and  hides, 
to  keep  the  moisture  from  the  goods.  The  store- 
house was  called  a  cache,  from  the  French  word, 
(f  cacher,"  to  conceal. 

165 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

The  red  pirogue  was  to  be  hidden  on  an  island  at 
the  mouth  of  Maria's  River. 

John  Shields,  the  blacksmith,  and  Alec  Willard 
worked  at  bellows  and  forge,  repairing  tools  and  spon- 
toons;  and  William  Bratton  repaired  broken  guns. 

However,  the  captains  were  still  cautious  regarding 
the  right  route  to  strike  the  Columbia  on  the  other  side 
of  the  mountains ;  and  early  the  next  morning,  June  1 1, 
Captain  Lewis  took  Drouillard,  John  Shields,  George 
Gibson  and  Si  Goodrich,  to  scout  ahead  up  that  south 
fork.  He  promised  to  send  back  word  to  Captain 
Clark,  who  was  to  follow,  with  the  boats  and  party, 
as  soon  as  the  cache  was  completed. 

On  the  morning  of  the  twelfth  the  white  pirogue 
and  the  six  canoes  headed  up  the  south  fork,  before  a 
fair  wind. 

"  We're  off,"  exulted  Sergeant  Pat 

Everybody  was  in  high  spirits— everybody  except 
Chaboneau  and  Sa-ca-ja-we-a. 

"  Sa-ca-ja-we-a  she  seeck,"  announced  Chaboneau. 
"  I  do  not  know  what  is  matter.  Mebbe  stomick,  or 
mebbe  she  ketch  col'  in  all  dat  rain." 

Yes,  the  little  sixteen-year-old  Bird-woman  was 
feeling  very  ill.  Now  for  almost  a  thousand  miles  she 
had  carried  baby  Toussaint,  had  tended  the  lodge  fire 
and  done  other  Indian  woman  work;  sometimes  she 
had  been  wet,  frequently  cold  and  foot-sore,  but  she 
never  had  complained  or  lagged. 

"  You  must  let  her  rest,  Chaboneau,"  said  Captain 

166 


WHICH  WAY  TO  THE  COLUMBIA? 

Clark,  that  evening  at  camp.  "  Keep  her  in  bed.  York, 
you  look  after  her.  Never  mind  me.  Make  her  some 
broth.  Peter,  you  help  her  with  little  Toussaint.  Hold 
him,  if  she'll  let  you." 

So  Peter  took  charge  of  ba'by  Toussaint — who 
really  was  a  very  good  baby.  He  rarely  cried,  and  even 
rarely  smiled.  He  lay  in  his  swathings  of  skins  and 
stared  with  his  bright  black  eyes. 

The  day  had  been  an  easy  one  for  nobody.  The 
river  soon  had  run  swiftly;  it  was  broken  with  many 
sand-bars  and  gravel-bars,  and  by  boulders  upon  which 
several  times  the  canoes  almost  capsized. 

The  next  day's  voyage  was  as  bad,  and  worse. 
Snow  mountains  appeared  on  the  south  as  well  as  at 
the  west.  There  were  -numerous  islands,  more  shoals 
and*  boulders,  and  the  tow-lines  were  used.  Sa-ca-ja- 
we-a,  lying  on  a  couch  of  skins  in  the  white  pirogue, 
had  not  improved.  She  moaned,  and  tossed,  and 
babbled  strange  words.  Peter  and  York  watched  over 
her  and  the  baby,  although  occasionally  York  had  to 
tumble  out  and  haul  on  the  tow-line. 

"Pshaw!"  muttered  Captain  Clark,  that  night, 
gazing,  non-plussed,  at  Sa-ca-ja-we-a,  who  did  not 
recognize  him.  "  We  mustn't  lose  our  little  Bird- 
woman.  She's  to  be  our  guide  to  her  own  people,  so 
that  they  will  show  us  the  way  across  the  mountains.  In 
fact,  the  fate  of  the  expedition  may  depend  upon  her." 

"  I  ver'  worried,"  confessed  Chaboneau.  "  Never 
see  her  dees  way  before." 

167 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

The  next  day  the  rapids  were  more  severe.  Wading 
breast-deep  in  the  cold  water  and  slipping  on  the  rocky 
bottom,  the  men  scarcely  could  haul  the  boats  against 
the  current.  All  the  morning  was  consumed  in  making 
six  miles.  Just  at  noon,  when  halt  was  ordered,  for 
dinner,  a  figure  was  seen,  ahead,  hurrying  down  along 
the  banks. 

It  was  John  Shields,  from  Captain  Lewis.  As  he 
approached,  he  swung  his  hat. 

"  Hurrah,  boys !  "  he  shouted.  "  We're  all  right. 
This  is  the  trail.  The  captain's  found  the  falls !  "  He 
came  panting  and  puffing  into  camp.  "  It's  the  true 
Missouri." 

"  How  far  up  are  the  falls,  Shields  ?  "  asked  Cap- 
tain Clark,  eagerly. 

"About  twenty  miles,  sir.  But  you  can't  get  to  them 
with  boats." 

And  that  was  so.  The  next  day  the  rapids  of  the 
river  were  more  furious,  and  the  men  were  constantly 
dodging  rattlesnakes  on  the  banks.  Shields  was  sent 
ahead  to  tell  Captain  Lewis  that  the  party  were  on  their 
way.  Captain  Clark  ordered  a  noon  halt  near  a  large 
spring  of  sulphur  water,  to  wait  for  Captain  Lewis. 
The  roaring  of  the  falls  had  already  been  heard  above 
the  noise  of  the  river. 

Sa-ca-ja-we-a  was  carried  to  the  sulphur  spring. 
She  drank  quantities  of  it  and  soon  felt  much  better. 

"  Now  be  very  careful  what  she  eats,  Chaboneau," 
warned  Captain  Clark. 

168 


WHICH  WAY  TO  THE  COLUMBIA? 

At  two  o'clock  Captain  Lewis  arrived  from  above. 
He  was  enthusiastic  over  the  falls,  but  he  had  had  sev- 
eral narrow  escapes  from  death,  according  to 
Drouillard. 

He  had  been  seriously  ill,  and  only  choke-cherry  tea 
had  cured  him.  When  he  had  neglected  to  reload  his 
rifle  after  shooting  a  buffalo,  a  huge  "  white  bear  " 
had  charged  him,  driven  him  into  the  river,  but  had 
retreated  before  the  captain's  leveled  pike  or  spontoon. 
That  same  day  three  buffalo  bulls  at  once  had  run  at 
him,  heads  down,  until  he  fortunately  had  turned  on 
them,  whereat  they  also  turned.  And  that  night  he 
slept  with  a  rattlesnake  over  four  feet  long  coiled  on  a 
log  just  above  his  head. 

"  I  t'ink  de  cap'n  haf  plenty  excitement,  in  one  day/' 
declared  Drouillard. 


XII 

SEEKING  THE  BIRD-WOMAN'S  PEOPLL 

THERE  was  a  series  of  five  falls,  said  Captain  Lewis, 
connected  by  cataracts;  and  in  the  top  of  a  tall  cotton- 
wood  tree  on  an  island  at  the  foot  of  the  uppermost 
fall  an  eagle  had  built  her  nest.  The  lowest  fall  was 
only  five  miles  above  the  camp;  but  the  boats  would 
have  to  be  carried  around  all  the  falls. 

Captain  Clark  took  some  of  the  men,  to  explore 
across  country,  from  the  camp  to  the  head  of  the  falls, 
and  stake  the  best  route  for  the  portage  or  carry. 

A  big  cottonwood  tree  near  camp  was  cut  down. 
Its  trunk  was  twenty-two  inches  through,  and  cross- 
sections  were  sawed  off,  to  supply  wheels  for  wagons  on 
which  the  'boats  should  be  loaded.  The  mast  of  the 
white  pirogue  was  brought  ashore,  for  wagon  axles. 
The  white  pirogue  was  hidden  in  some  willows,  and 
a  hole  was  started,  as  another  cache  where  more  goods 
were  to  be  left. 

The  men  were  told  to  double-sole  their  moccasins, 
because  the  prickly-pear  cactus  grew  thickly  all  along 
the  line  of  march.  And  hunters  were  sent  out,  to  get 
meat  and  skins. 

The  captain  had  fixed  upon  a  spot  above  the  upper 
fall,  opposite  several  islands,  for  the  end  of  the  portage. 
It  was  eighteen  miles. 

170 


SEEKING  THE  BIRD-WOMAN'S  PEOPLE 

"  I  dunno,"  commented  black  York,  shaking  his 
woolly  head  dubiously.  "A  monster  white  b'ar  done 
hab  dat  place  already/' 

For  York  had  been  chased  clear  into  camp  by  a 
bear;  and  when  the  captain  had  taken  three  men  and 
gone  out  to  find  the  bear  it  had  driven  another  of  the 
hunters,  John  Collins,  into  the  river. 

"  Nice  quiet  place  to  camp,"  spoke  Dick  Windsor. 

A  quantity  of  the  baggage  and  one  canoe  were 
loaded  upon  one  of  the  little  wagons,  and  led  by  the 
two  captains,  the  men  ranged  themselves  before  and 
behind,  to  haul  and  push.  Away  they  went,  with  the 
wagon  jolting  and  creaking,  and  threatening  to  fall 
apart. 

Chaboneau  and  York  and  Peter  had  been  left  here 
at  Portage  Creek  to  care  for  Sa-ca-ja-we-a  again.  The 
Bird-woman  had  improved  so  much  that  she  was  able 
to  walk  about — but  thereupon  she  had  eaten  a  lot  of 
dried  fish  and  little  ground  apples  (pomme  blanc:  white 
apple,  Chaboneau  called  it),  which  had  made  her  ill 
once  more  and  also  had  made  the  captains  very  angry 
at  Chaboneau  and  at  Peter  too.  The  Bird-woman  was 
hard  to  control;  she  thought  she  ought  to  eat,  to  get 
well. 

In  the  morning  Captain  Clark  came  back  down  with 
all  the  men  except  Sergeant  Pat,  Joe  Fields  and  John 
Shields,  after  another  load.  The  wagon  had  broken  on 
the  trip  up,  and  they  had  had  to  carry  the  baggage  half 
a  mile  on  their  backs.  They  were  very  tired. 

171 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

(S  Dat  cactus  so  bad  it  steeck  my  moccasin  to  my 
feets,"  complained  Cruzatte. 

There  was  quite  a  bit  of  news,  time  to  time,  from 
the  White-bear  Islands  camp,  where  Patrick  Gass  and 
a  few  other  men  under  Captain  Lewis  stayed  to  cover 
the  frame  of  an  iron  canoe  with  skins.  The  bears 
were  bad.  Joe  Fields  had  met  three  at  once  and  had 
been  chased  into  the  river ;  had  fallen,  cut  his  hand  and 
knee  on  the  rocks  and  bent  his  gun.  Drouillard  and 
Reuben  Fields  had  climbed  a  tree,  and  from  it  Drouil- 
lard had  killed  a  bear  with  one  shot  through  the  head. 
The  bear's  nose  was  as  large  as  an  ox's,  his  front  foot 
measured  nine  inches  wide,  his  hind  foot  measured 
nearly  twelve  inches  long,  not  counting  the  claws. 
That  same  night  another  bear  entered  the  camp  and 
carried  away  some  of  the  buffalo  meat.  The  little 
black  dog  was  kept  busy  all  the  nights,  growling 
and  barking. 

"  Dose  islands  full  of  bear,"  said  old  Cruzatte.  "  I 
never  know  bear  so  mean.  Mebbe  if  we  don'  go  in 
dere  an*  clean  dem  out,  dey  eat  some  of  us.  I  sleep  on 
my  gun  de  whole  night/' 

"  One  good  thing :  that  pesky  swivel's  been  cached 
at  the  foot  of  the  first  falls,"  quoth  Robert  Frazier. 
c<  We  don't  have  to  lug  a  cannon  around  any  more." 

By  the  last  of  June  all  the  stuff  had  been  moved 
from  Portage  Creek.  But  there  had  been  a  rain,  mak- 
ing the  trail  soft ;  so  part  of  the  final  two  wagon-loads 
was  dumped  about  four  miles  on  the  way,  and  camp 

172 


SEEKING  THE  BIRD-WOMAN'S  PEOPLE 

was  made,  with  the  rest,  at  Willow  Run  Creek,  two 
miles-  further  along,  inland  from  the  Great  Falls. 

In  the  morning  everybody  except  Captain  Clark, 
York,  Peter,  and  the  Chaboneau  family  went  back,  with 
one  of  the  two  carts,  to  bring  on  the  baggage  that  had 
been  left  behind  on  the  plain. 

"Wouldn't  Sa-ca-ja-we-a  like  to  see  the  Great 
Falls  ?  "  asked  the  captain,  kindly. 

The  little  Bird-woman  grinned  at  the  Red  Head's 
notice  of  her.  He  was,  to  her,  a  big  chief.  Of  course 
she  would  like  to  see  the  wonders  of  this  medicine 
river  that  roared. 

"  I  t'ink  I  like  to  see,  myself,"  ventured  Chaboneau. 
"  I  been  so  busy  I  see  netting  yet." 

And  that  was  so,  not  only  with  Chaboneau,  but 
with  others  of  the  men;  for  the  Portage  Creek  end  of 
the  trail  was  'below  the  falls  and  the  White-bear  Islands 
end  was  above  the  falls,  and  the  trail  itself  cut  across 
several  miles  from  the  river. 

"  We'll  go  over,  while  the  baggage  is  being  brought 
up,"  said  the  captain.  "  York,  you  come  if  you  want 
to."  He  surveyed  Peter— anxious  Peter.  "  Peter,  I'll 
have  to  detail  you  to  guard  the  baggage  here.  You 
must  be  a  soldier.  I'll  lend  you  my  pistol.  You  won't 
need  to  use  it.  But  keep  the  stuff  spread  out 
to  dry.  We'll  be  back  soon.  It's  only  three  or 
four  miles." 

Away  they  nastened,  the  Bird-woman  carrying 
small  Toussaint  in  a  net  on  her  back.  Watching  them 

173 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

go,  Peter  gulped.  Was  he  never  to  see  the  roaring 
falls?  Still,  he  felt  proud  to  be  left  on  guard,  like  any 
soldier. 

How  hot  and  sultry  was  the  morning!  All  the 
landscape  of  rock  and  prickly  pear  and  low  stiff  brush 
lay  smothering,  and  no  sound  was  to  be  heard  save  the 
dull  booming  of  the  river,  unseen  in  the  north. 
Peter  sat  down,  in  the  shade  of  the  baggage  on 
the  wagon. 

Presently  a  black  cloud  welled  over  the  crests  of 
the  shining  snow  mountains  in  the  west.  More  rain? 
Peter  watched  it  vigilantly.  It  grew  swiftly,  and  rolled 
into  mid-sky.  Peter  rose  .with  haste  and  covered  the 
baggage  with  buffalo  hides  again.  It  was  a  fearful 
looking  cloud,  as  it  bellied  and  muttered,  and  let  fall 
a  dense  veil. 

On  swept  the  veil,  hanging  from  the  doud ;  under 
the  wagon  crept  Peter.  A  moment  more — and  whish ! 
crackle !  r-r-r-r-r-r !  Wind !  Rain !  Hail !  The  air  turned 
black !  Such  wind !  Such  rain !  But  such  hail ! ! 

Listen  to  the  shouts !  See !  The  party  sent  for  the 
baggage  were  legging  to  camp!  They  had  left,  trudg- 
ing gaily,  laughing  and  gamboling  and  stripped  to  the 
waist,  because  of  the  heat  and  the  work  ahead.  And 
here  they  were,  a  confused  crowd,  heads  down,  naked 
shoulders  high,  beating  through  the  storm  for  shelter 
while  the  fierce  hail  lashed  their  skins. 

It  was  rather  funny — and  it  was  serious,  too.  The 
hail  pelted  like  grape-shot;  some  of  the  hailstones  were 

174 


SEEKING  THE  BIRD-WOMAN'S  PEOPLE 

as  large  as  Peter's  fist.  Ah!  One-eyed  Cruzatte  was 
down.  He  could  not  see  very  well,  anyway,  and  the 
hail  had  knocked  him  flat  and  sprawling.  Down 
were  George  Gibson  and  John  Potts,  and  Nat 
Pryor — only,  all,  to  stagger  to  their  feet  and  lurch 
onward  again. 

In  charged  the  crowd,  blinded  and  bleeding,  to  dive 
frenziedly  underneath  the  wagon,  or  to  grab  right  and 
left  for  shirts  and  robes,  and  crouch,  gasping  but 
covered. 

"  I  fought  I  was  knock'  dead,"  panted  old  Cruzatte. 

"  Feel  as  though  I'd  had  a  lickin',"  panted  William 
Werner. 

The  hail  was  followed  by  a  furious  deluge  of  rain. 
The  sky  cleared — and  here  came  the  captain  and  squad. 
What  a  sight  they  were,  not  only  drenched,  but  muddy 
from  head  to  feet.  They  had  been  caught  in  a  ravine, 
near  the  Great  Falls,  where  they  had  sought  the  pro- 
tection of  shelf -rock.  But  in  a  twinkling  the  ravine 
had  filled  with  water — a  rushing  mass  carrying  stones 
and  drift-wood.  They  tried  to  climb.  The  water  rose 
almost  as  fast  as  they  climbed.  The  captain  and  Cha- 
boneau  helped  the  Bird-woman.  She  lost  her  net,  but 
saved  little  Toussaint.  The  captain  lost  his  compass 
and  an  umbrella  that  he  had  carried;  Chaboneau  lost 
his  gun  and  bullet-pouch  and  tomahawk.  York  was 
up  on  the  plain  hunting  buffalo,  and  although  badly 
bruised,  fared  the  best  of  anybody,  except  Peter.  So, 
after  all,  Peter  was  satisfied  that  he  had  not  been  along. 

12  175 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

Willow  Run  had  risen  six  feet,  and  now  was  im- 
passable. Because  of  that,  and  the  mud,  two  more 
days  were  required,  to  take  all  the  baggage  into  the 
White-bear  Islands  camp. 

That  evening,  July  2,  the  captains  ordered  an  attack 
on  the  largest  island,  ruled  by  a  king  of  the  white  bears, 

"  Sure,  they're  so  sassy  we  got  to  tache  'em  a  les- 
son," quoth  Pat. 

But  although  the  island  was  thoroughly  searched, 
by  all  hands,  including  Peter,  only  one  bear  fell. 
Drouillard  shot  him  through  the  heart  as  he  was  charg- 
ing, and  he  died  without  doing  any  damage. 

"Have  ye  seen  the  falls,  boy?"  queried  Pat,  of 
Peter,  the  next  morning.  Peter  shook  his  head.  "  Well, 
nayther  have  I,"  continued  Pat.  "  I've  been  workin' 
too  hard — an'  so  've  ye.  But  with  the  permission  of 
the  commandin'  officers  we'll  jest  take  a  day  off,  b* 
gorry,  an'  make  a  tour  of  inspection.  We'll  lave  the 
other  lads  to  finish  the  iron  boat." 

And  inspect  the  falls  they  did,  from  end  to  end.  It 
was  a  marvelous  spectacle — ten  miles  of  rush  and  roar 
and  spray  and  foam.  The  eagle  was  on  her  nest  in  the 
top  of  the  lone  cottonwood  on  the  island.  The  Indians 
at  the  Mandan  and  Minnetaree  villages  had  said  there 
would  be  an  eagle. 

"An*  ten  thousand  bufFlo !  "  exclaimed  Sergeant 
Pat,  surveying  from  the  brink  of  one  of  the  falls.  "  Ten 
thousand  grazin',  an'  another  thousand  drowned  in 
the  rapids.  Sure,  they're  bein'  carried  down  like  chips." 

176 


SEEKING  THE  BIRD-WOMAN'S  PEOPLE 

To  the  south  and  west  and  north  were  the  moun 
tains,  those  to  the  northward  snowy,  those  to  the  south- 
ward more  bare. 

"An'  those  are  the  wans  we  have  to  cross,  I  reckon," 
sighed  Patrick. 

But  the  iron  boat  did  not  prove  a  success.  After 
days  of  labor  at  dressing  skins,  both  elk  and  buffalo, 
and  stretching  them  over  the  frame,  and  cementing  the 
seams  with  a  mixture  of  beeswax,  buffalo  tallow  and 
pounded  charcoal,  she  leaked  so  that  she  had  to  be  taken 
apart  again  and  buried. 

So  Captain  Clark,  with  most  of  the  men,  went  out 
in  search  of  trees  from  which  canoes  might  be  hollowed ; 
and  it  was  the  middle  of  July  before  the  expedition  was 
fairly  on  its  way  again. 

"  Faith,  we'll  be  lucky  if  we  reach  the  Paycific  be- 
fore winter,"  remarked  Sergeant  Pat. 

The  river  led  southwest,  toward  the  mountains.  It 
grew  swifter  and  shallower,  and  was  frequently  broken 
by  islands.  There  were  days  of  arduous  wading, 
hauling,  struggling,  sometimes  in  rain  and  hail,  and 
again  in  the  hot  sun  with  the  thermometer  at  eighty 
and  above. 

The  mosquitoes  and  flies  bothered.  The  shores  grew 
rougher,  and  higher,  until  at  one  spot  the  river  boiled 
down,  150  paces  wide,  through  a  gap  in  solid 
cliffs  1 200  feet  high,  black  granite  below,  creamy  yel- 
low above.  The  channel  was  too  deep  for  wading, 
or  for  the  poles;  and  the  boats  were  rowed,  a  few 

177 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

inches  at  a  time,  with  the  oars.  This  gap  was  named 
the  Gate  of  the  Mountains. 

"  I  told  you  we'd  find  a  gate,"  reminded  Pat,  to 
Peter.  "  Now  what's  inside,  an'  where  be  the  Snakes?  " 

For  this  was  the  Sho-sho-ne  country,  at  last.  The 
Sho-sho-nes  were  horse  Indians.  The  captains  counted 
on  getting  horses  from  them,  and  leaving  the  canoes. 
The  firing  of  guns  was  limited,  lest  the  Snakes  should 
hear  and  be  alarmed.  Indian  trails  and  abandoned 
camps  were  passed.  The  snowy  range  of  the  Shining 
Mountains  was  nearer,  in  the  west.  Captain  Clark 
took  Chaboneau  and  Joe  Fields  and  York  and  John 
Potts,  and  set  out  ahead,  by  land,  to  find  some  Indians, 
if  possible. 

Sa-ca-Ja-we-ia  began  to  remark  familiar  places, 
where  she  and  other  Sho-sho-ne  women  had  been,  be- 
fore she  was  captured  by  the  Minnetarees.  Now  little 
flags  were  hoisted  on  the  canoes,  to  tell  the  Sho-sho-nes 
that  the  United  States  soldiers  were  coming  in  peace. 

"  Soon  de  river  make  t'ree  forks,  Sa-ca-ja-we-a 
say/'  informed  old  Cruzatte,  at  the  evening  camp  after 
Captain  Clark  had  been  gone  almost  nine  days. 

"An'  which  is  the  trail  then,  I  wonder,"  mused 
Sergeant  Pat.  "  Sure  we  ought  to  be  crossin'  the 
mountains  before  we  get  much  furder  south.  It's 
near  August,  already." 

At  "breakfast  time  the  next  morning,  July  27,  the 
crew  hauling  the  leading  boat  against  the  stiff  cur- 
rent suddenly  cheered,  frightened  the  big-horn  sheep 

178 


SEEKING  THE  BIRD- WOMAN'S  PEOPLE 

that  had  been  following  along  the  tops  of  the  cliffs 
and  peeping  over  curiously,  watching  the  strange  white 
men. 

"  De  Sho-sho-nes !  "  gasped  Lepage,  who  was  on  the 
line  of  the  second  boat,  wherein  Peter  sat,  fending 
with  an  oar.  This  was  Peter's  job,  when  the  current 
was  very  swift. 

"  Hooray !  "  cheered  the  men  all. 

Everybody  expected  to  see  Captain  Clark  waiting 
with  some  of  the  Snakes.  But  the  first  crew  had  not 
cheered  because  of  any  Indians.  They  had  cheered 
because  the  cliffs  ceased,  and  now  there  extended  a 
broadly-rolling  green  meadow-land  rimmed  about 
with  high  mountain  ranges  white  and  gray.  The 
mountains  closed  in  behind,  on  the  east  and  north  and 
west;  and  the  meadow  lay  before,  on  the  east  and 
south  and  west.  All  lovely  it  looked  in  the  sunrise. 

First,  a  river  came  in  on  the  left,  from  the  south- 
east. While  breakfast  was  being  cooked  Captain 
Lewis,  climbing  a  rocky  outcrop  on  the  bank  of  this 
river,  saw,  beyond,  two  other  forks — a  middle  fork  and 
a  southwest  fork,  where  the  Missouri  again  split. 

"  The  Three  Forks,  Sa-ca-ja-we-a?  "  he  inquired. 

The  Bird-woman  nodded,  smiling. 

"  We'll  breakfast  and  go  on  to  those  upper  forks, 
men/'  informed  the  captain.  "  We  may  find  word 
there  from  Captain  Clark,  as  to  which  is  the  better. 
Sa-ca-ja-we-a  doesn't  know." 

So  they  proceeded.    But  deserted  lay  the  meadow- 

179 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

land.  However,  at  the  juncture  of  those  forks  was 
found  a  note,  stuck  in  a  cleft  pole  planted  on  the  bank. 
Captain  Clark  said  that  the  southwest  fork  was  the 
better. 

Captain  Lewis  ordered  camp  made  a  short  distance 
up  this  fork,  until  Captain  Clark  should  return.  Right 
glad  were  all,  including  Peter,  to  rest  awhile ;  eat,  sleep, 
mend  the  tow-ropes  and  repair  moccasins,  and  kill 
meat. 

The  Bird-woman  was  especially  delighted. 

"  She  say  here  on  dis  spot  is  where  de  Snake  camp 
was  surprise'  'by  de  Minnetaree,  five  year  ago,  an' 
chase'  into  de  timber.  De  Minnetaree  keel  four  war- 
rior, an'  capture  four  boys  an'  all  de  women/'  ex- 
plained Drouillard.  "  Sa-ca-ja-we-a  was  capture', 
too." 

That  noon  Captain  Clark  returned,  with  Chaboneau, 
Joe  Fields,  John  Potts  and  York.  They  had  not  seen 
a  single  Indian ;  but  they  had  had  a  hard  tramp.  Cha- 
boneau's  feet  had  given  out  several  times,  and  the 
captain  was  sick.  He  thought  that  he  had  drunk  too 
much  cold  water  while  he  was  hot. 

The  first  fork  was  named  Gallatin's  River,  in  honor 
of  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States. 
The  middle  fork  was  named  Madison  River,  in  honor 
of  James  Madison,  the  secretary  of  state,  at  Washing- 
ton. But  the  southwest  fork  was  named  the  Jefferson, 
in  honor  of  the  President  himself. 

The  two  captains  agreed  that  the  Jefferson  River 

180 


SEEKING  THE  BIRD-WOMAN'S  PEOPLE 

was  the  main  fork  of  the  Missouri ;  and  up  the  Jeffer- 
son they  all  went. 

"Arrah!"  groaned  Pat.  "An'  how  d'  ye  like  it, 
Peter?  Bad  cess  to  that  Bird-woman.  Didn't  she  say 
we'd  meet  her  people,  an*  where  be  they?  " 

"  Those  Snakes  are  a  wandering  tribe,  Pat,"  an- 
swered Sergeant  Pryor.  "And  Sa-ca-ja-we-a  hasn't 
been  here  since  she  was  a  girl,  five  years  ago, 
remember." 

But  Sa-ca-ja-we-a  was  remembering.  This  was  her 
home  country.  She  pointed  out  a  high  shoulder  of 
rock  not  far  from  the  river,  to  the  west,  and  exclaimed. 

"  Dat  she  say  is  w'at  ze  Snakes  call  ze  Beaver's 
Head/'  explained  Chaboneau.  "  Ze  Snakes  spen'  deir 
summer  'cross  ze  mountains  jes'  ze  odder  side,  an'  she 
t'ink  some  sure  to  be  on  dis  side,  too.  She  t'ink  we 
meet  some  of  dem  on  dees  river,  furder  up  a  leetle 
way." 

"  To-morrow  I'm  going  in  yonder  and  not  come 
back  till  I  find  the  Snakes  and  their  horses,  Will," 
declared  Captain  Lewis. 

Immediately  after  breakfast  Captain  Lewis  reso- 
lutely slung  his  knapsack  on  his  back,  donned  his  cocked 
hat,  and  with  Drouillard,  John  Shields  and  Hugh 
McNeal,  struck  into  the  west. 

"  Keep  traveling  up  river,  Will,"  he  directed,  as 
last  word.  "  I'll  stay  out  this  time  till  I  find  Indians 
and  horses.  You  won't  see  me  again,  before." 

This  was  August  9.    For  a  week  the  canoes  were 

181 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

hauled  and  pushed  on  up  the  crooked,  rapid  Jefferson, 
with  never  a  word  from  the  search  party. 

"We'll  all  be  turnin'  into  fishes/'  groaned  Pat. 
"  Me  toes  are  webbed  like  a  beaver's,  already.  Sure, 
it's  an  awful  empty  country;  an'  we're  thray  thousand 
miles  from  home.'' 

On  August  1 6  they  approached  where  the  river 
forked  once  more.  It  was  always  forking,  decided 
Peter.  Before,  not  many  miles,  was  a  gap  in  the  moun- 
tain range.  The  river  seemed  to  lead  for  the  gap. 
Were  they  going  to  follow  it  in?  And  then  where 
would  they  be?  The  trees  were  ceasing.  There  were 
only  three  in  sight.  What  would  the  camps  do  for 
wood?  Ahead  were  brush  and  rocks;  and  this  night 
the  camp  fires  were  made  from  willow  branches. 
Whew,  but  the  water  was  cold — the  source  of  the  river 
evidently  was  near,  in  the  melting  snow. 

The  river  doubled  in  a  great  curve,  before  it  reached 
the  forks.  Captain  Clark  had  sent  Reuben  Fields  and 
George  Shannon  ahead,  to  the  forks,  but  they  reported 
no  news.  In  the  morning  he  set  out,  with  Chaboneau 
and  Sa-ca-ja-we-a,  to  walk  across  the  bend,  while  the 
boats  were  hauled  around  by  way  of  the  river. 

As  all  were  hauling  and  puffing,  somebody  cried 
aloud.  It  was  Sergeant  Ordway,  on  the  foremost  rope. 

"  Look,  lads  f "  he  bade.  "  The  captain's  sighted 
something! " 

"  Look  at  Sa-ca-ja-we-a !    Has  she  gone  crazy?  " 

"  Hooray!  "  cheered  Patrick  Gass.    "  'Tis  the  In- 

182 


SEEKING  THE  BIKD-WOMAN'S  PEOPLE 

juns  they're  meetin'.  I  see  some  on  horseback.  Hoo- 
ray !  Heave,  lads,  on  the  lines." 

For  Sa-ca-ja-we-a  had  run  ahead  of  the  captain — • 
she  was  dancing — back  she  ran  to  him,  and  danced 
about  him,  her  fingers  in  her  mouth.  Little  Toussaint 
bobbed  in  his  net. 

"  She  suck  her  finger/'  proclaimed  old  Cruzatte. 
"  Dat  mean  she  see  her  own  peoples !  Now  she  point. 
Dere  dey  come,  on  de  hoss.  Hooray !  " 

"  Chaboneau  swings  his  cap !  The  captain  makes 
the  peace  sign !  " 

"  Frinds,  lads !  "  croaked  Pat.  "  Heave,  now ;  heave 
on  the  lines,  or  they'll  get  away  from  yez !  " 

How  the  men  tugged,  even  Peter  laying  his  weight 
sturdily  to  the  rope.  Yonder,  ahead  to  the  left,  inside 
the  curve  (and  a  long,  vexatious  curve  it  was),  half  a 
dozen  Indians  were  galloping  for  the  captain's  squad. 
They  met  Sa-ca-ja-we-a  first,  then  Chaboneau,  then  the 
captain;  all  mingled  together.  The  Indians  were  sing- 
ing and  prancing,  and  taking  the  captain  up  toward 
the  forks.  One  jumped  to  earth  and  made  the  captain 
sit  the  horse.  Hooray ! 

"  There's  a  village  beyant,"  gasped  Patrick. 
"  Heave,  lads,  or  else  we're  dreamin'." 

"  I  see  Drouillard  dere,  with  dose  Injuns,"  asserted 
Labiche,  whose  eyes  were  keen.  "  He  dress  jes'  like 
Injun.  I  guess  he  trade  clothes." 

"Heave,  lads!" 

The  Indian  camp  grew  plainer,  as  the  boats  rounded 

183 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

the  curve.  More  Indians  were  flocking  out,  afoot  and 
ahorse.  Sa-ca-ja-we-a  and  another  woman  had  rushed 
together;  they  were  hugging  each  other.  But  before 
the  canoes  could  arrive  at  the  bank,  the  captain  and 
Chaboneau  and  Sa-ca-ja-we-a  had  disappeared  into  a 
large  willow  lodge  and  most  of  the  Indians  had  flowed 
in  after. 

Hugh  McNeal  met  the  boats,  at  the  landing,  and  he 
had  a  long  story  to  tell. 


XIII 

HORSES  AT  LAST 

"  ARE  they  Snakes,  Hugh?" 

"  Yes,  of  course.  But  we  put  in  the  dag-gonedest 
time  you  ever  saw,  catchin'  'em,"  responded  Hugh. 
"  First  we  had  'em,  then  we  didn't,  next  they  had  us !  " 

"  What's  that  around  your  neck  ?  Where's  your 
hat?" 

"  Faith,  ye  look  like  a  Borneo  ape,"  added  Pat. 

Hugh  almost  blushed  through  his  coat  of  tan  and 
whiskers.  He  was  bare-headed,  and  about  his  neck  was 
a  curious  object  like  a  tippet  or  boa.  In  fact,  it  was  very 
similar  to  the  fur  boas  worn  by  women  of  to-day.  One 
end  was  a  nose  and  eyes,  the  other  end  was  a  tail ;  and 
all  along  the  edge  dangled  small  rolls  of  white  fur 
sewed  to  a  white  band  and  hanging  eighteen  inches 
long — forming  a  kind  of  tassel  cloak.  The  collar  itself 
was  brown  otter,  the  border  and  tassels  were  ermine. 
But  it  was  an  odd-looking  rig. 

"  Shucks,"  apologized  Hugh.  "  We  traded  clothes 
with  the  Injuns,  to  show  good  feelin'.  The  other  fel- 
low's wearin'  my  hat.  Shields  traded  his  shirt,  too. 
The  chief's  got  on  the  captain's  cocked  hat.  And  you 
ought  to  see  Drouillard.  He's  painted,  to  boot.  With 
all  that,  we  had  a  narrow  squeak,  I  reckon." 

"How  far  you  been?" 

186 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

"Across  the  mountains,  boys,  to  the  Columby  side. 
We  followed  up  the  Missouri,  through  yonder  gap,  till 
it  got  so  small  I  stood  with  one  foot  on  each  bank.  And 
we  went  on  over,  up  an  Injun  trail.  Where  the  waters 
flowed  west  we  drank  of  the  Columby!  " 

"  Didn't  you  meet  any  Injuns  on  this  side?  " 

"Yes.    I'll  tell  you." 

And  so  he  did.  On  the  third  day  out,  the  captain 
had  sighted  an  Indian,  through  his  spy-glass.  The 
Indian  was  horseback,  and  looked  as  though  he  might 
be  a  Snake.  But  when  the  captain,  calling  "  Tabba 
bone,"  meaning,  in  Sho-sho-ne,  "  white  man,"  and 
stripping  back  his  sleeve  to  show  his  white  skin,  was 
just  about  to  talk  with  the  Indian,  John  Shields  fool- 
ishly came  in  and  the  Indian  galloped  away.  The  cap- 
tain gave  John  a  proper  "  dressing  down,"  for  this. 

A  number  of  horse  tracks  were  seen,  and  the  cap- 
tain kept  on  advancing,  following  a  sort  of  a  road,  into 
the  mountains.  He  ordered  a  United  States  flag  to  be 
carried,  on  a  pole.  Next,  two  squaws  were  frightened, 
and  ran  away — but  only  a  mile  on,  down  the  road,  an 
old  woman  and  a  young  woman  and  a  little  girl  were 
discovered,  on  a  sudden,  digging  roots.  The  young 
woman  ran,  but  the  old  woman  and  the  little  girl 
squatted  and  covered  their  heads,  expecting  to  be  killed. 

The  captain  raised  them  up  and  gave  them  presents, 
and  got  Drouillard  to  talk  with  them  in  sign  language. 
The  young  woman  came  back;  and  after  the  captain 
had  painted  the  cheeks  of  the  three  with  vermilion,  in 

186 


HORSES  AT  LAST 

token  of  peace,  the  two  parties  started  on,  for  the 
village. 

Pretty  soon,  up  the  road  charged  sixty  other  In- 
dians— warriors,  on  horses,  ready  for  a  fight ;  but  the 
women  went  ahead,  to  talk  peace,  and  the  captain  fol- 
lowed, alone,  carrying  the  flag;  and  as  soon  as  they 
knew  what  to  expect,  the  Indians  jumped  from  their 
horses  and  hugged  the  white  men  and  rubbed  faces 
with  them. 

"Ah  hi  e,  ah  hi  e !  "  said  the  Indians ;  meaning  : 
"  Glad  to  see  you." 

The  chief  was  Ca-me-ah-wait.  In  the  village  the 
men  were  given  salmon  trout  to  eat,  so  they  knew  that 
they  were  on  the  Pacific  side  of  the  mountains.  The 
village  was  friendly,  but  when  the  captain  asked  the 
Indians  to  return  with  him  to  the  east  side  and  meet  the 
other  white  chief  and  men,  they  were  afraid  again — 
said  the  white  men  might  be  spies  for  the  Minnetarees. 
Finally  Ca-me-ah-wait  was  persuaded,  and  started,  with 
eight  warriors. 

The  women  wept  and  wailed,  but  after  a  few  hours 
the  village  followed. 

"  Well,  our  troubles  began  again,"  continued  Hugh. 
"  To  get  those  Snakes  down  here  was  like  haulin'  the 
barge  up-stream  in  some  of  those  rapids.  They  turned 
so  suspicious  that  we  traded  clothes  with  'em.  We 
gave  'em  our  flag  to  carry.  The  cap'n  had  told  'em 
that  the  other  white  chief  was  to  be  found  at  the  forks — 
but  when  we  sighted  the  forks,  the  boats  weren't  to  be 

187 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

seen,  and  that  made  matters  worse.  Where  was  the 
other  white  chief?  Of  course,  we'd  calkilated  you 
fellows  might  be  slow,  'cause  of  the  rapids,  but  we'd 
hoped. 

"  Now  we  gave  over  our  guns,  and  the  cap'n  told 
the  chief  to  have  us  shot  if  there  was  any  ambush.  We 
were  terrible  afraid  the  whole  pack  of  Injuns  'd  skip 
and  leave  us  stranded  without  hosses,  or  guns  either. 
The  cap'n  sent  Drouillard  and  an  Injun  down  to  the 
forks,  to  get  a  note  that  had  been  stuck  on  a  pole  there, 
for  Captain  Clark.  They  brought  back  the  note,  and 
the  cap'n  pretended  it  was  a  note  put  there  t>y  the  other 
white  chief,  sayin'  he  was  comin',  but  had  been  delayed. 
The  cap'n  wrote  another  note,  by  light  of  a  brush  fire, 
telling  Captain  Clark  to  hurry.  Drouillard  and  an 
Injun  were  to  take  it  down  river  in  the  morning. 

"  That  night  the  Snakes  hid  out,  all  'round  us,  in 
the  brush,  for  fear  of  a  trap,  while  the  chief  and  four 
or  five  warriors  bunked  close  beside  us.  Our  scalps 
felt  mighty  loose  on  our  heads — and  the  mosquitoes 
were  powerful  bad,  too,  so  we  none  of  us  slept  much. 
The  cap'n  was  pretty  near  crazy.  It  was  touch-and-go, 
how  things  'd  turn  out.  The  Snakes  were  liable  to 
skeedaddle,  the  whole  pack  of  'em,  and  carry  us  off  with 
'em.  The  only  reason  they  were  stayin'  now,  was  that 
Drouillard  had  told  'em  we  had  one  of  their  women  in 
the  main  party,  and  a  'big  black  medicine  man/' 

"  Hoo !  Dat  am  me,"  asserted  York,  proudly.  "  Dis 
eckspedishun  can't  get  'long  wiffout  Yawk." 


HORSES  AT  LAST 

"  Next  mornin'  we  were  on  the  anxious  seat.  The 
fate  of  the  expedition  hung  on  whether  you  fellows 
arrived  pretty  soon  at  those  forks  and  proved  that  the 
cap'n  had  spoken  truth.  The  chief  sent  out  a  lot  of 
scouts ;  and  Drouillard  and  one  Injun  started  early  with 
the  note,  to  find  you.  They  hadn't  been  gone  more  than 
two  hours  by  sun,  when  in  came  a  scout  at  a  gallop, 
makin'  signs.  He  said  he'd  seen  men  like  us,  with  skin 
color  of  ashes,  travelin'  up-river  in  boats,  and  they 
weren't  far  away.  Hooray !  " 

"  Hooray !  "  cheered  the  listeners. 

"  That  settled  the  business.  Old  Ca-me-ah-wait 
hugged  us,  and  the  other  Injuns  danced  and  sang,  and 
away  raced  a  gang  of  'em — and  next  thing  Drouillard 
and  a  crowd  met  Captain  Clark.  And  now  here 
you  all  are.  So  I  reckon  we're  fixed.  They'll  trade 
us  hosses." 

The  council  was  still  in  progress;  but  while  camp 
was  being  made  under  direction  of  Sergeant  Ordway, 
out  from  the  council  lodge  came  Shields  and  Drouil- 
lard, to  the  camp.  Drouillard  was  grinning  and  caper- 
ing, evidently  very  happy.  His  swarthy  cheeks  were 
painted  with  vermilion,  he  wore  a  Snake  tippet  and 
decorated  shirt;  he  looked  exactly  like  an  Indian. 

"  What  news,  Drouillard?  " 

"  Ever't'ing  is  all  right.  We  are  'mong  frien's. 
Dey  all  glad  to  haf  Sa-ca-ja-we-a,  an'  she  speak  well 
for  us.  She  find  one  woman  who  was  capture'  same 
time  as  she  but  escape*.  An*  dat  chief,  he  her  brudder. 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

Dey  haf  recognize',  an'  haf  weep  togedder  under  one 
blanket.  I  mos'  weep  too." 

"A  princess,  be  she  ? "  exclaimed  Sergeant  Pat 
"  Well,  well !  Good  for  the  little  Bird- woman.  An* 
what  of  hosses?  " 

"  Plenty  hoss.    No  more  drag  canoe." 

The  captains  came  down.  They  also  were  dressed 
as  Indians ;  in  their  hair  had  been  tied  little  shells  from 
the  "  stinking  lake,"  as  the  Snakes  called  the  far-off 
Pacific  Ocean.  The  shells  had  been  bought  from  other 
Indians  and  were  considered  very  valuable.  A  canopy 
of  boughs  and  sails  was  ordered  erected;  under  this 
another  council  was  held.  Chief  Ca-me-ah-wait 
promised  to  furnish  horses.  The  Indian  women  set 
about  repairing  the  men's  moccasins.  They  appeared 
to  be  a  kindly  tribe — they  wondered  much  at  York,  and 
the  battered  boats,  and  the  guns,  and  even  at  the  smart- 
Bess  gf  the  little  black  dog.  But  they  shook  their  heads 
when  questioned  about  the  country  west  of  the 
mountains. 

"  Dey  say  it  is  not  ze  possible  for  ze  white  mans  to 
make  travel  down  ze  Columbee  by  boats,  an'  ze  trail  for 
ze  hoss  an'  ze  foot  is  ver'  bad,"  declared  Chaboneau. 

"  What's  the  matter  with  Sa-ca-ja-we-a,  Tous- 
saint?  "  queried  George  Shannon,  for  the  Bird-woman's 
eyes  were  red  and  swollen. 

"  She  much  cry.  Mos'  all  her  fam'ly  dead  while  she 
been  away." 

In  the  morning  Captain  Clark  took  Sergeant  Pat 

190 


HORSES  AT  LAST 

and  ten  other  men,  and  started  over  the  mountains  to 
explore  beyond  the  Snake  village,  in  hopes  of  finding  a 
route  by  water.  They  were  to  send  back  a  man  to  the 
Snake  village,  to  meet  Captain  Lewis  there  and  tell  him 
what  had  been  discovered. 

Chief  Ca-me-ah-wait  and  all  his  people  except  two 
men  and  two  women  started  also  for  the  village,  with 
Sa-ca-ja-we-a  and  Chaboneau,  to  bring  down  horses, 
for  Captain  Lewis. 

Everybody  in  the  camp  was  put  at  work  making 
pack-saddles  from  oar  handles  and  pieces  of  boxes  tied 
firmly  with  raw-hide!  Out  of  sight  of  the  Indians  a 
hole  was  dug  in  which  to  cache  more  of  the  baggage, 
especially  the  specimens  that  had  been  collected. 

Five  horses  were  purchased,  at  six  dollars  each  in 
trade ;  the  canoes  were  sunk  by  rocks  in  the  bottom  of 
the  river — and  the  Snakes  promised  not  to  disturb 
them,  while  the  white  men  were  away.  On  August  24 
the  march  was  begun  for  the  village  on  the  other  slope 
of  what  are  to-day  the  Bitter  Root  Mountains.  The 
five  horses  were  packed  with  the  supplies ;  Sa-ca-ja-we-a 
and  little  Toussaint  rode  on  a  sixth  horse  that  Cha- 
boneau had  bought. 

Although  this  was  August,  the  evenings  and  nights 
were  so  cold  that  the  ink  froze  on  the  pens  when  the 
journals  were  being  written.  The  village  was  reached 
in  the  late  afternoon  of  August  26.  John  Colter  was 
here,  waiting.  He  brought  word  from  Captain  Clark 
that  canoes  would  be  of  no  use ;  the  country  ahead  was 

13  191 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

fit  for  only  horse  and  foot,  as  far  as  the  captain  had 
gone. 

"  We  had  an  old  Injun  for  guide  who'd  been  living 
in  another  village  further  west,"  related  John.  "  He 
says  we  can't  go  to  the  southward,  for  the  land's  bare 
rocks  and  high  mountains  without  game,  and  the  horses' 
hoofs  'd  be  cut  to  pieces,  &nd  the  Broken  Moccasin 
Indians  would  kill  us.  Tisn't  the  direction  we  want 
to  go,  anyhow.  The  Injuns  we  met  said  winter  was 
due,  with  big  snows,  and  soon  the  salmon  would  be 
leaving  for  lower  country.  So  the  captain  decided  to 
turn  back  and  advise  Captain  Lewis  that  we'd  better 
tackle  another  road  he'd  heard  of  from  the  guide, 
farther  to  the  north,  into  the  Tushepaw  country  on  the 
big  river.  After  we'd  struck  the  big  river,  which  like 
as  not  is  the  Columby,  we  could  follow  it  down  to  the 
Pacific.  Anyhow,  the  Tushepaws  might  know." 

Captain  Lewis  immediately  began  to  bargain  for 
twenty  horses.  The  prices  were  being  raised,  so  that 
soon  a  young  horse  cost  a  pistol,  100  balls,  some  powder 
and  a  knife. 

Sergeant  Pat  arrived  from  Captain  Clark's  camp 
below,  to  ask  how  matters  were  shaping. 

"  Tis  a  hard  road  ahead,  lads,"  he  confirmed. 
"  Cruzatte  will  tell  you  that.  Sure,  wance  he  was 
almost  lost,  himself.  I  was  sint  up  here  to  inquire 
about  the  prospect  of  hosses ;  but  what  I  want  to  learn, 
myself,  is :  are  we  have  the  pleasure  of  the  comp'ny  of 
the  little  Bird- woman?" 

192 


HORSES  AT  LAST 

"  Yes,  she's  going." 

For  Sa-ca-ja-we-a  was.  She  preferred  the  white 
men  to  her  own  people. 

"  Sa-ca-ja-we-a  will  go.  She  wants  to  see  the  big 
water,"  she  had  said. 

All  were  pleased  that  Sa-ca-ja-we-a,  the  Bird- 
woman,  would  take  little  Toussaint  and  continue  on 
with  them  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

On  the  last  day  of  August  there  was  a  general 
breaking  up  at  the  village.  The  Sho-sho-nes  under 
Chief  Ca-me-ah-wait  rode  east  over  the  pass  which  is 
to-day  Lemhi  Pass  of  the  east  fringe  of  the  Bitter 
Root  Mountains,  to  hunt  the  buffalo  on  the  plains  of 
the  Missouri.  With  twenty-seven  horses  and  one  mule 
the  white  chiefs'  company,  guided  by  the  old  Sho- 
sho-ne  and  his  four  sons,  set  out  in  quest  of  the 
Columbia  and  the  Pacific. 

The  men  named  the  old  guide  "  Toby." 


XIV 

ACROSS  STARVATION  MOUNTAINS 

"  SURE,"  said  Patrick  Gass,  "  if  I  wasn't  so  sore  in 
me  feet  an'  empty  in  me  stomick  I  could  close  my 
eyes  an'  think  myself  back  in  a  Pennsylvany  barnyard, 
with  the  chickens  all  a-cluckin'." 

"  But  instead,  we're  four  thousand  miles  from  old 
'  Pennsylvany,'  Pat,  and  in  a  country  where  even  the 
dogs  are  so  hungry  they  eat  your  moccasins  while  you 
sleep,"  retorted  George  Shannon.  "  The  pesky  brutes 
stole  my  best  pair  last  night." 

This  was  the  day  of  September  5.  Ca-rne-ah-wait 
and  Toby  and  John  Colter  and  Pat  had  spoken  truly 
when  they  had  predicted  a  tough  trip.  The  region  west 
from  the  Sho-sho-ne  village  proved  impassable.  Old 
Toby  had  led  northward,  by  hard  trail  up  and  dowjs* 
The  two  captains  rode  in  the  advance;  the  Banters 
scouted  for  game  but  found  little ;  York's  big  feet  had 
failed  him  and  he  needs  must  iide  until  well;  Sa-ca- 
ja-we-a,  of  course,  rode,  carrying  on  her  back  baby 
Toussaint;  everybody  else  trudged  afoot,  each  man 
leading  two  pack-horses. 

The  horses  soon  were  worn  out  by  scrambling 
amidst  rain  and  snow,  and  falling  on  the  sharp  rocks. 

What  with  hauling  and  shoving  and  chasing  them, 
the  men  had  decided  that  boats  were  easier,  after  all 

194 


ACROSS  STARVATION  MOUNTAINS 

The  route  had  crossed  the  crooked  range,  to  the 
east  side  again,  and  here  had  struck  a  Tushepaw  Indian 
camp  of  thirty-three  lodges.  Now  the  company  were 
lying  around,  waiting  and  resting,  while  the  captains 
traded  for  more  horses. 

"  I  can  not  onderstan'  one  word,"  complained 
Chaboneau.  "  Neider  can  Sa-ca-ja-we-a." 

Old  Toby  himself  scarcely  was  able  to  interpret 
for  the  captains.  The  language  was  a  curious  mixture 
of  grunts  and  cries.  Nevertheless,  a  kind  and  hos- 
pita'ble  people  were  these  light-skinned  Oo-tla-shoots, 
of  the  great  Tushepaw  or  Flat-head  nation.  They  were 
rich  in  horses,  and  generous  with  their  roots  and 
berries ;  and  fearing  that  these  strange  white  men,  who 
rode  without  blankets,  had  been  robbed,  they  threw 
about  their  guests'  shoulders  handsome  bleached  buffalo 
robes. 

These  Oo-tla-shoots,  who  were  on  their  way  east- 
ward to  hunt  the  buffalo,  signed  that  the  best  trail  for 
the  big  water  beyond  the  mountains  was  the  Pierced 
Nose  trail,  northward  still.  If  the  white  men  crossed 
the  mountains  by  that  trail,  they  would  come  to  a  swift 
river  that  joined  the  Big  River,  down  which  were  falls 
and  a  big  water  where  lived  other  white  men. 

Old  Toby,  winking  his  eyes  violently,  said  that  he 
knew.  He  once  had  been  upon  that  trail  of  the  Pierced 
Noses,  by  which  they  hunted  the  buffalo.  His  four 
sons  had  left  him,  several  days  back;  but  another  son 
had  appeared,  and  he  asserted  that  they  two  would 

195 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

guide  the  white  chiefs,  by  the  Pierced  Nose  trail  onward 
from  the  No-Salmon  River,  and  so  to  the  stinking  lake 
under  the  setting  sun. 

"  What  white  men  do  we  find,  at  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
George?"  asked  Peter;  for  both  the  Snakes  and  the 
Flat-heads  spoke  of  "  white  men  "  down  the  Columbia, 
which  was  known  only  as  the  Big  River. 

"  Traders,  Peter.  White  men  from  the  United 
States,  and  from  other  white  nations — England  and 
Russia — who  sail  there  in  large  boats  and  trade  for 
furs.  Perhaps  we'll  all  return  to  the  United  States  by 
one  of  those  boats." 

"At  No-Salmon  River  is  where  we  enter  the  Pierced 
Nose  trail,  is  it  ?  "  mused  Sergeant  Nat  Pryor.  "  I 
reckon  that's  a  correct  name.  'Cordin'  to  Chaboneau 
and  Drouillard  the  salmon  aren't  to  be  found  in  any 
waters  east  of  the  Rock  Mountains.  They  all  stay 
west." 

"  Oh,  murther,  an'  aren't  we  west  o'  the  mountains, 
yet  ?  "  exclaimed  Pat. 

Still  north  pushed  the  company,  down  through  the 
Bitter  Root  Valley  of  western  Montana,  with  the  line 
of  mountains  on  the  left  rising  ever  colder  and  higher. 
In  four  days'  journey  was  reached  a  broad  Indian 
trail,  along  a  river  running  east.  It  was  the  Pierced 
Nose  trail,  said  old  Toby,  and  the  river  was  the  No- 
Salmon  River.  The  Indian  road  was  to  be  followed 
westward,  over  the  mountains,  but  on  the  way  there 
would  be  no  game. 

196 


ACROSS  STARVATION  MOUNTAINS 

So  the  captains  called  the  No-Salmon  (to-day  the 
Lou  Lou)  River,  "  Traveler's  Rest  Creek/'  because 
here  camp  was  made  while  the  men  hunted  and  mended 
clothes  before  again  climbing  the  mountains. 

The  Pierced  Nose  trail  was  plain  at  first,  but  on 
the  Idaho  side  of  these  the  Bitter  Root  Mountains  it 
soon  was  lost  amidst  many  other  trails,  and  the  snows 
and  the  thick  timber  and  the  bare  rocks.  Old  Toby 
himself  was  well-nigh  confused;  he  had  not  been  along 
the  main  trail  for  many  years. 

The  mountains  were  very  broad,  very  wild.  The 
jumble  of  high  ridges  was  steep,  and  constantly  drear 
with  rain  and  snow.  The  horses  strayed,  and  went 
lame,  and  fell  down  and  broke  things.  The  hunters 
sometimes  brought  in  a  lean  deer,  sometimes  a  few 
grouse,  and  frequently  nothing,  so  then  for  all  hands 
there  were  only  a  sip  of  canned  soup,  and  berries. 

It  was  on  September  14  that  the  first  of  the  colts 
was  killed,  to  be  eaten.  The  soup  and  the  berries  were 
making  the  men  ill.  He  was  a  nice  little  black  colt,  and 
Peter  hated  to  have  him  killed ;  but  what  else  could  be 
done?  On  this  day,  also,  they  arrived  at  a  clear,  rocky 
river  down  which  extended  the  Indian  road. 

"Is  this  the  Big  River?"  asked  Captain  Lewis, 
hopefully,  of  old  Toby.  "Is  this  the  Big  River,  with 
the  falls  and  the  white  men  ?  " 

"Koos  koos  kee,"  grunted  old  Toby.  And  that 
was  all  he  would  say. 

So  "  Koos-koos-kee  "  was  the  river  named. 

197 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

"  Dat  one  funny  name,"  chuckled  Chaboneau.  "  Ze 
'  Some-odder-river.' '  And  he  laughed.  Not  for  con- 
siderable time  did  he  explain  to  his  comrades  that  "  koos 
koos  kee  "  was  only  Indian  for  "  This  is  not  the  river ; 
it  is  some  other  river/' 

But  the  Kooskoopkee  or  Clearwater  River  does  the 
stream  remain  unto  this  day. 

"More  mountains!  Wirrah,  more  mountains!" 
lamented  Patrick  Gass,  when  the  Indian  road  left  the 
banks  of  the  stony  Kooskooskee  and  through  the 
[roughest  kind  of  a  country  started  upward  again. 
"  Will  we  niver  be  out  into  some  place  where  it's  open 
enough  to  see  'round  a  corner  ?  " 

"  Nebber  so  col'  in  mah  life  befoh,"  chattered 
York,  plodding  on  in  frozen  moccasins,  with  snow  to 
his  ragged  knees.  "  We  got  to  follow  Marse  Will  an* 
Marse  Merne — but  how  do  dis  hyar  Tobe  know  whar 
he  gwine?  " 

Sa-ca-ja-we-a  pointed  ahead  from  her  pony's  back. 
She  had  learned  to  understand  even  York's  speech.  She 
was  very  smart  and  quick. 

"  Pony  rub  bark,"  she  said.  For,  as  anybody  ought 
to  be  able  to  perceive,  the  snow-covered  trail  was 
marked  above  by  places  where  Indian  pony  packs  had 
scuffed  low-hanging  branches.  This  to  Peter  was  very 
plain. 

This  night  the  brown  colt  was  killed,  for  supper. 

"  I  slept  with  me  heels  higher  'n  me  head,"  in  the 
morning  announced  Pat.  :  'Tis  a  fine  country  where 

198 


ACROSS  STARVATION  MOUNTAINS 

a  man  can't  find  a  level  spot  to  stretch  his  bones  over." 

The  next  day  the  spotted  colt  was  killed.  Some  of 
the  men  were  growing  discouraged.  After  supper 
Captain  Clark,  lean  but  ruddy,  his  eyes  tired  but  steady, 
made  a  speech,  with  Captain  Lewis  seconding  him. 

"  We're  doing  the  best  we  can,  men/'  he  said. 
"  We're  bound  to  break  our  way  out  into  the  lower 
country  where  there'll  be  warmth  and  game  and  friendly 
Indians.  Why,  it  may  be  only  a  few  miles  ahead !  We 
can't  turn  back.  Behind  us  would  be  only  disgrace. 
Before  is  glory,  and  the  honor  of  the  flag.  To-morrow 
I'm  to  scout  for  a  better  game  country  than  we  are 
finding.  The  level  grassy  plains  are  the  places  for 
game;  and  I'll  send  you  back  word,  and  as  like  as  not 
some  fat  meat,  too." 

"  Hooray,"  agreed  the  men,  feebly. 

"  Our  hearts  be  strong  but  our  stomicks  be  weak," 
sighed  Pat. 

"  We're  nearly  at  the  end  of  the  colts,"  added  Alec 
Willard.  "  I'd  as  soon  eat  my  moccasins  as  chaw  old 
hoss." 

The  next  morning  early  Captain  Clark,  with  Drouil- 
lard,  Joe  Fields,  Alec,  John  Colter,  Hugh  McNeal  and 
George  Shannon,  the  strongest  of  the  men,  and  good 
hunters  all,  rode  ahead  on  picked  horses  to  find,  as  they 
expressed,  "  a  level  spot  and  game." 

Old  Toby  and  his  son  continued  to  guide.  They 
were  doing  the  best  they  could,  too.  But  surely  this 
Pierced  Nose  trail  was  long  and  difficult 

199 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

Now  the  only  food  left  was  some  soup  and  bear-oil. 
Everybody  was  feeling  weak  and  miserable.  But  once 
the  men  started  a  cheer,  for  they  glimpsed,  distant  be- 
fore, through  a  gap,  a  large  'broad  valley  or  plain — 
perhaps  the  end  of  the  mountains  and  perhaps  the 
country  of  the  Nez  Perces  or  Pierced  Noses.  Then 
the  mountains  closed  again  and  the  valley  was  swal- 
lowed up. 

On  the  third  day,  about  ten  o'clock,  another  shout 
was  given.  To  a  tree  beside  the  trail  (the  trees  were 
getting  larger,  showing  that  the  trail  was  leading  down- 
ward), in  a  little  draw  was  hanging  the  carcass  of  a 
horse ;  and  to  it  was  pinned  by  a  spHnter  a  note  from 
Captain  Clark : 

I  am  going  on  to  some  plains  to  the  southwest 
Will  find  Indians  and  collect  provisions  for  you. 

w.  c 

Sturdy  Captain  Clark,  the  Red  Head  chief!  He 
could  always,  be  depended  upon.  Captain  Lewis's  thin 
face  brightened  under  his  tattered  hat. 

"  Load  the  meat,  lads/'  he  ordered.  "  Well  have 
a  rousing  dinner,  this  day." 

Ah,  but  at  noon  that  horse  tasted  good,  after  soup 
and  bear-oil !  The  head  was  cut  off  and  tossed  aside ; 
then  with  their  knives  everyone  slashed  off  thick  steaks 
and  roasted  them  on  ramrods,  over  the  fires.  Peter 
got  his  share. 

However,  just  as  the  march  was  about  to  proceed, 
200 


ACROSS  STARVATION  MOUNTAINS 

the  captain,  who,  as  usual,  had  paused  to  cast  his  eye* 
keenly  along  the  line,  exclaimed  sharply: 

"  Where's  my  pack  animal,  Cruzatte?  " 

For  Cruzatte  was  supposed  to  look  after  this  horse 
and  another. 

"  I  t'ought  he  follow,"  stammered  Cruzatte,  who 
was  quite  sick.  "  I  no  see  heem.  My  gracious !  Mebbe 
he  in  brush." 

"  Pshaw !  "  muttered  the  captain.  Then  he  spoke 
energetically.  "  I  must  have  those  saddle-bags.  They're 
of  the  utmost  importance.  Fields  (and  he  addressed 
Reuben),  you're  pretty  fit.  Take  a  horse  and  another 
man  and  go  clear  back  to  where  we  loaded  the  meat 
this  morning.  That's  likely  where  the  animal  strayed, 
while  we  halted.  Look  for  his  tracks  and  find  him.  Be 
sure  and  get  the  saddle-bags,  in  all  events.  Their  con- 
tents are  valuable." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  responded  Reuben.  He  looked  about 
him  doubtfully.  And  Peter  did  an  unexpected  thing. 
Peter  felt  equal  to  any  man.  He  was  young  and  wiry ; 
his  lite  among  the  Otoes  had  accustomed  him  to  all 
kinds  of  outdoor  hardships.  He  had  not  had  so  much 
flesh  and  bones  to  carry  as  had  the  men ;  he  had  walked 
lightly  and  straight- footed,  as  Indians  walked. 

"  Take  me,  Reuben,"  he  said.  "  I'm  all  right.  I 
find  the  horse." 

"Faith,"  supported  Patrick  Gass,  "ye  might  do 
worse,  Reub.  Sure,  the  lad's  as  good  as  the  best." 

"  If  the  captain  has  no  objections ?  "  proffered 

£01 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

Reuben,  with  a  grin,  "  I  think  we'd  make  out  first- 
rate." 

"An  excellent  plan,"  agreed  the  captain.  "  Take 
Peter,  by  all  means.  He  wants  to  do  his  part,  and 
when  it's  his  turn  to  ride  he'll  be  easy  on  the  horse. 
He's  a  regular  woodsman,  too.  Look  to  your  laurels, 
Reuben." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  grinned  Reuben. 

So  they  set  off ;  Reuben,  with  his  rifle,  at  first  on  the 
horse;  Peter,  with  his  bow  and  quiver,  trotting  along- 
side, holding  to  the  saddle  thongs.  After  a  time,  they 
changed  off;  Peter  rode  and  Reuben  walked. 

They  had  left  about  three  o'clock.  It  was  dusk 
when  they  arrived  at  the  noon  camp  spot,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  high  ridge.  Not  even  a  bird  had  they  seen, 
to  kill  for  food.  They  had  started  in  such  a  hurry  that 
they  had  brought  nothing.  But  the  horse's  head  was 
still  lying  here,  untouched. 

"  We'll  have  to  make  shift  with  the  head,  Peter," 
quoth  Reuben. 

So  they  built  a  fire,  and  roasted  the  horse's  head, 
and  ate  it  even  to  the  ears.  Then  they  rolled  in  Reuben's 
blanket  and  slept  together. 

"  We'll  find  that  hoss  or  bust,"  declared  Reuben, 
as  in  the  morning  early,  having  finished  the  horse-head 
scraps,  they  again  took  the  back  trail.  Soon  they  arrived 
at  the  place  where  the  horse  carcass  had  been  packed — 
and  sure  enough,  in  the  brush  at  one  side  were  the  tracks 
of  a  horse  that  had  wandered. 

202 


ACROSS  STARVATION  MOUNTAINS 

They  followed  the  tracks  carefully,  and  soon  they 
came  to  the  saddle  bags,  which  had  been  scraped  off 
from  the  horse's  back.  Reuben  put  them  aboard  the 
other  horse. 

"  Now  for  the  critter  himself,"  he  said. 

The  tracks  led  on  and  on;  and  not  until  almost 
noon  did  they  sight  the  loose  horse,  grazing  in  a  small 
open  spot.  He  was  too  weak  to  be  wild,  and  they 
caught  him  easily  by  his  dragging  neck  rope.  Reuben 
transferred  the  saddle  bags,  and  clambered  stiffly  on. 

"  We've  a  hoss  apiece,  anyhow,  Peter,"  he  pro- 
claimed. "  But  I'm  so  empty  I  don't  cast  a  shadow. 
Come  on,  let's  take  the  cap'n  his  saddle  bags." 

Empty !  Anyway — hooray !  And  now  for  "  home." 

Reuben,  who  was  leading,  suddenly  pulled  his  hone 
short.  He  slipped  off,  and  resting  his  rifle  on  the 
horse's  back,  took  long  aim.  Two  grouse  were  sitting 
on  a  limb,  craning  their  necks  foolishly.  Peter  could 
see  the  rifle  muzzle  waver;  he  himself  felt  as  though 
he  could  not  draw  his  bow.  The  rifle  cracked — the 
grouse  went  hurling.  Good !  Reuben  swiftly  reloaded, 
and  aimed — and  down  spun  the  other  grouse.  But 
when  they  were  picked  up,  both  were  in  a  pulp,  from 
which  dangled  the  heads  and  legs.  Reuben  shook  his 
own  head  dolefully. 

"And  once  I  could  clip  off  a  bird's  head  at  fifty 
paces.  Well,  I  was  lucky  to  hit  'em  at  all,  for  I  can't 
hold  steady." 

The  two  grouse  made  scarcely  a  couple  of  mouth- 

203 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

fuls,  so  much  of  the  meat  had  been  shot  away.  The 
next  morning  the  horses  had  disappeared,  leaving  only 
the  saddle  bags.  Reuben  finally  shouldered  them. 

"  If  we  stay  looking  longer,"  he  said,  "  we'll  starve. 
I'll  tote  these  as  far  as  I  can,  Peter;  and  you  can  tote 
'em  as  far  as  you  can.  Between  us  we'll  manage,  for 
the  cap'n  's  got  to  have  his  saddle  bags." 

"  You  bet,"  agreed  Peter. 

That  was  a  journey!  They  struggled  all  day.  The 
saddle  bags,  vowed  Reuben,  gasping,  weighed  a  ton — 
and  what  a  ton  might  be,  Peter  did  not  know,  but  at 
any  rate  it  must  be  very  heavy.  Only  toward  late 
afternoon  did  they  sight,  below  and  ahead,  the  captain's 
party,  on  the  edge  of  a  plain — the  plain. 

The  party  were  moving  briskly,  as  if  encouraged. 
The  captain  was  in  advance.  Reuben  and  Peter  quick- 
ened at  their  best.  Would  they  never  overtake  the 
other  men? 

"  Smoke,  ain't  it,  yonder?"  panted  Reuben. 

"  Pierced  Nose  village,  maybe,  Reuben,"  answered 
Peter. 

"  Don't  I  see  Joe,  with  that  crowd  ?  Yes,  and  a 
strange  Injun,  too!  "  panted  Reuben. 

They  hastened,  dragging  their  numb  legs,  and  lug- 
ging those  saddle  bags.  The  party  saw  them,  and 
halted ;  gave  them  a  cheer. 

"  Bully  for  yez !  "  greeted  Pat.  "  We've  arriv,  in  a 
land  o'  plenty,  'mongst  the  Pierced  Noses.  Yez  are  in 
time." 

804 


ACROSS  STARVATION  MOUNTAINS 

Reuben  saluted  the  captain,  who  had  turned  back. 

"  The  saddle  bags,  Cap'n,  but  we  lost  the  hosses 
again/' 

"  You've  done  well,  both  of  you,  lads,"  praised  the 
captain.  "  Joe's  brought  us  some  fish  and  roots,  from 
Captain  Clark.  He's  waiting  close  ahead,  with  the 
Pierced  Noses.  Get  on  a  horse,  each  of  you,  and  eat 
as  you  ride.  I  think  our  troubles  are  over." 

Within  an  hour  they  all  were  at  the  village  of  the 
Pierced  Noses,  here  on  the  open,  fertile  prairie  of  the 
kamass  roots  that  tasted  like  pumpkin;  and  Captain 
Clark  and  Chief  Twisted-hair  made  them  all  welcome. 


XV 

HOORAY  FOR  THE  PACIFIC! 

How  beautiful  was  this  broad  prairie  beyond  the 
mountains,  here  where  lived  the  Cho-pun-nish  or 
Pierced  Nose.  Indians  while  they  caught  salmon  in  the 
rivers  and  the  women  dug  the  kamass  roots !  But  the 
fish  and  the  roots  were  given  so  generously  that  all 
the  party  were  made  ill. 

The  village  was  near  the  banks  of  the  Koos-koos- 
kee.  Twisted-hair,  who  was  the  head  chief,  drew  a 
map  with  charcoal  on  a  white  robe.  He  showed  that 
not  far  below,  the  Koos-koos-kee  joined  another  river, 
and  that  this  river  joined  another  river  from  the  north, 
and  the  two  combined  flowed  west  to  the  big  water. 

"  Tim-tim-m-m-m !  "  crooned  all  the  Indians,  imi- 
tating the  noise  of  some  great  falls  that  would  be  met. 
From  the  region  of  these  falls  and  below,  came  the 
beads  and  the  brass  ornaments  traded  to  Indians  by 
white  men. 

'Twas  time  to  change  from  horses  to  canoes  again. 
Five  canoes  were  hollowed  by  fire  from  tree  trunks — 
for  only  a  few  of  the  men  were  strong  enough  to 
swing  an  adze.  All  the  horses  were  branded  with  the 
army  brand  which  bore  the  name  "  Capt.  M.  Lewis, 
U.  S.,"  and  left  in  charge  of  the  Pierced  Noses.  Chief 
Twisted-hair  promised  that  the  horses  should  be  well 


HOORAY  FOR  THE  PACIFIC 

taken  care  of,  and  would  be  waiting  when  the  white 
men  asked  for  them  again. 

"  Well,  I  for  one  am  glad  to  be  away/'  said  George 
Shannon,  when  in  the  morning  of  October  7  the  canoes, 
laden  and  manned,  their  oar-blades  flashing,  headed 
into  mid-stream.  "  These  Nez  Perces  are  a  good 
people — 'bout  the  best  looking  Injuns  we've  seen — but 
they're  mighty  independent.  They  don't  give  anything 
for  nothing." 

"  No.  And  they  even  hold  us  to  small  account  be- 
cause we  eat  dogs,"  quoth  Joe  Fields.  "  But  if  a  man 
wants  meat,  in  their  village,  it's  eat  fish,  hoss  or  dog — 
an'  dog's  the  only  stuff  with  any  strength." 

That  was  true.  Lacking  better  meat,  the  captains 
finally  were  buying  the  Pierced  Noses'  work-dogs — for 
dog-meat  had  been  found  good,  back  at  the  Sioux 
camps  on  the  Missouri.  Drouillard  and  Cruzatte  and 
the  other  Frenchmen  preferred  it  even  to  deer.  But 
the  Pierced  Noses  sneered  at  the  white  "  dog-eaters." 

Why  they  were  called  "  Pierced  Noses  "  nobody 
could  tell.  However,  old  Toby  claimed  that  below 
there  were  other,  real  Pierced  Noses,  and  also  real 
Flat-heads. 

Chief  Twisted-hair  and  a  second  chief,  Tetoh,  were 
aboard  the  captains'  canoe,  to  help  the  white  men  pass 
through  the  other  villages,  into  the  "  Tim-tim-m-m  " 
river. 

As  for  old  Toby  and  his  son,  on  the  third  day  out, 
during  a  halt  they  suddenly  were  espied  running  away 

14  207 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

at  top  speed,  and  did  not  so  much  as  turn  their  heads. 

"  They're  leaving  without  their  pay!  Send  and  get 
them,  so  we  can  pay  them,"  cried  Captain  Lewis. 

Chaboneau  grinned. 

"  Dey  'fraid  of  ze  tim-tim  rapids.  Ze  chief  say  no 
use  to  pay  dem,  anyhow.  His  people  take  ever*  t' ing 
from  dem  when  dey  go  t'rough  village/' 

Down,  down,  down  with  the  swift  current.  The 
Koos-koos-kee  joined  the  other  river,  which,  the  cap- 
tains figured,  was  the  same  river  on  whose  head-waters, 
far,  far  eastward,  the  camp  of  Chief  Ca-me-ah-wait 
and  his  Snakes  had  been  located.  The  Lewis  River  did 
they  name  it,  but  on  modern  maps  it  is  the  Snake. 

Now  on  down,  down,  down  the  rushing  Snake. 
There  were  rapids,  where  once  or  twice  a  canoe  or  two 
was  wrecked;  but  this  sort  of  travel  was  easier  than 
travel  over  the  mountains,  and  easier  than  travel  up 
stream.  Many  Indians  were  seen,  fishing  for  the  sal- 
mon. They  were  friendly,  and  much  astonished.  They 
sent  runners  to  other  villages,  below,  telling  of  the 
coming  of  white  men ;  sometimes  Chiefs  Twisted-hair 
and  Tetoh  also  ran  ahead,  along  the  bank,  that  the 
Indians  might  be  ready.  And  on  shore  the  Indian 
women  made  much  of  Sa-ca-ja-we-a  and  little 
Toussaint. 

"If  these  white  strangers  travel  with  a  woman 
and  a  baby,  they  cannot  be  a  war  party,"  reasoned  the 
Indians. 

Down,  down;  until  soon  after  dinner,  on  October 

208 


HOORAY  FOR  THE  PACIFIC 

16,  this  1805,  the  course  of  another  large  river,  coming 
in  from  the  north,  was  sighted  before.  The  Columbia! 
It  must  be  the  Columbia,  at  last !  Hooray !  Hooray ! 
Hooray !  Old  Cruzatte,  in  the  leading  canoe,  struck  up 
a  gay  French  boat-song;  Drouillard  and  Lepage  and 
Labiche  and  Chaboneau  chimed  in.  Faster  flashed  the 
paddles. 

"  We'll  land  yonder,"  shouted  Captain  Lewis,  point- 
ing to  the  right.  "At  the  junction.  A  lot  of  Indians 
seem  to  be  waiting  for  us." 

"  Thanks  to  Twisted-hair,"  jubilated  Pat.  "  Sure, 
I  see  him — an'  the  other  wan,  too.  When  they  left 
they  said  they'd  meet  us  at  the  Tim-tim,  didn't  they? 
An'  it's  a  big  river,  by  the  looks." 

A  great  throng  of  Indians  collected  by  Chiefs 
Twisted-hair  and  Tetoh  had  collected  on  the  shore  just 
above  where  the  two  rivers  joined.  A  council,  opened 
by  a  procession  with  drums,  was  held.  These  were 
Sokulk  Indians.  They  claimed  to  be  kins-folk  of  the 
Twisted-hair  Pierced  Noses,  but  their  foreheads  were 
flattened  back  so  that  their  heads  ended  in  a  peak,  and 
therefore  they  were  more  like  Flat-heads.  They  were 
kind — and  not  very  attractive,  because  their  eyes  were 
sore  from  water  glare  and  sun  glare,  and  their  teeth 
were  bad  from  eating  fish  and  roots. 

Yes,  this  was  the  Columbia.  The  two  captains 
measured  it,  and  the  Snake.  The  width  of  the  Snake 
was  575  yards,  but  the  width  of  the  Columbia  was 
960  yards. 

209 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

"A  noble  stream,"  remarked  Captain  Lewis.  "  I 
wonder  how  far  to  the  north  it  penetrates." 

"  Did  you  ever  see  so  many  fish,  dead  and  alive,  in 
all  your  life,  Merne?"  exclaimed  Captain  Clark. 
"  Why,  the  water  swarms  with  them,  and  I  under- 
stand that  the  Indians  use  dried  ones  for  fuel." 

"  We'll  buy  more  dogs,  nevertheless,  Will,"  smiled 
Captain  Lewis.  "  The  men  can't  row  and  make 
portages  on  fish  flesh  alone." 

A  day  and  a  half  was  spent  with  the  curious 
Sokulks,  here  where  in  southeastern  Washington  the 
Snake  River  unites  with  the  mighty  Columbia,  in  the 
midst  of  a  flat  and  pleasant  plain.  On  October  18  the 
five  canoes  swept  out  and  down  the  Columbia  itself. 

"  How  far  now,  Pat?  "  asked  Peter.  "  To  the  big 
ocean  ? " 

"  Thirty-siven  hunderd  miles  have  we  come,  by  the 
captains'  reckoning"  answered  Pat.  "An'  belike  'tis 
four  hunderd  more  to  the  Paycific." 

"  What  do  we  do  then,  Pat?  " 

"If  there  aren't  anny  ships  we'll  have  to  stay  the 
winter.  An'  in  the  spring,  barrin'  better  luck,  'tis  back 
we  track  over  the  four  thooisan'  moils  ag'in." 

From  the  Sokulks  had  been  procured  another  map, 
of  the  Columbia.  It  showed  many  bad  places — rapids 
and  falls.  Around  some  of  these  the  canoes  had  to  be 
carried ;  through  others  they  had  to  be  hauled  by  hand, 
or  carefully  lowered  with  ropes.  The  Indians  ashore 
seemed  very  timid,  and  hid. 

210 


HOORAY  FOR  THE  PACIFIC 

Captain  Clark  returned  in  high  humor,  from  a 
walk  ahead  with  Chaboneau  and  Sa-ca-ja-we-a,  and 
Chiefs  Twisted-hair  and  Tetoh.  He  had  shot  a  white 
crane,  and  a  teal  duck,  and  then  had  entered  an  Indian 
house  that  had  been  closed  against  him.  The  Indians 
had  bowed  before  him,  and  covered  their  heads.  When 
he  had  lighted  his  peace-pipe  with  his  sun-glass,  they 
had  cried  aloud  in  terror. 

"  They  thought  me  a  god,  Merne,"  he  laughed. 
"  They  had  heard  the  gun,  had  seen  the  two  birds  drop, 
and  believed  that  I  had  dropped,  too.  When  I  brought 
fire  out  of  the  sky,  that  finished  the  business.  But  I 
quieted  them  with  presents/' 

However,  near  the  mouth  of  a  river,  Chief  Yellept 
of  the  Walla  Walla  Indians  welcomed  the  white  men, 
and  wished  them  to  stay.  Captain  Lewis  said  that 
they  would  visit  him  on  their  way  back. 

Chiefs  Twisted-hair  and  Tetoh  were  sent  ahead 
again,  to  assure  the  Indians  that  the  white  men  in- 
tended no  harm. 

The  first  big  falls,  reached  on  October  23,  were  not 
the  Tim-tim.  The  Tim-tim  was  still  below.  But  Chief 
Twisted-hair  said  that  the  Indians  down  there  were 
strangers  to  him,  and  unfriendly.  He  had  heard  that 
they  were  planning  to  attack  the  white  men.  And  as 
he  could  not  speak  their  language  he  wished  to  return 
to  his  own  people. 

He  was  persuaded  to  stay — and  Tetoh  also — until 
the  passage  of  the  Tim-tim. 

211 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

These  first  falls  or  rapids  were  very  difficult;  but 
the  captains  and  old  Cruzatte  consulted  together,  and 
decided  to  run  them  with  the  boats. 

"If  ever'body  follow  me  an'  do  as  I  do,  we  get 
t'rough,"  promised  Cruzatte,  head  boat-man. 

So,  with  Cruzatte  leading,  down  through  the  wild 
channel  of  the  first  rapids  in  the  Dalles  of  the  Columbia 
raced  the  canoes.  And  from  the  rocky  shores  the 
Eneeshur  Indians  opened  their  mouths  wide  in 
astonishment. 

"  The  Irish  an'  Frinch  together  can  lick  the  world," 
boasted  Pat. 

But  the  place  of  Tim-tim,  or  "  Timm,"  for  short, 
was  close  ahead.  It  was  reached  the  next  evening, 
and  they  camped  above  it,  at  a  village  of  the  Echeloots, 
or  Chinook  Indians,  who  also  flattened  their  hats,  and 
spoke  more  cluckingly  than  did  even  the  Oo-tla-shoots. 

They  were  the  enemies  of  the  Pierced  Noses,  but 
they  agreed  upon  peace,  in  a  council  with  Chief  Twisted- 
hair.  Now,  after  a  final  "  smoke,"  Chiefs  Twisted- 
hair  and  Tetoh  left,  on  horses,  for  their  home.  They 
had  been  good  and  faithful  guides. 

The  place  of  Timm,  at  the  foot  of  the  Dalles  of  the 
Columbia,  is  to-day  called  the  Long  Narrows.  It  was 
three  miles  long  and  in  some  stretches  only  fifty  yards 
wide.  But  the  canoes,  guided  by  Cruzatte,  went 
through  without  one  being  wrecked.  They  had  been 
badly  battered,  however,  by  the  many  rocks;  and  the 
next  day  was  spent  in  caulking  them.  That  night 


HOORAY  FOR  THE  PACIFIC 

Cruzatte  brought  out  his  fiddle,  a  dance  was  held,  about 
the  fire,  and  the  Echeloots  appeared  much  entertained. 

In  the  middle  of  the  night,  soon  after  the  camp  had 
gone  to  bed,  Peter  was  awakened  by  Pat's  suddenly 
squirming  out  of  the  blanket. 

"  The  fleas  are  'atin'  me  entoirely,"  declared  Pat. 
"  Into  the  river  goes  ivery  stitch  o'  me  clothes/' 

Peter  was  glad  to  follow  the  example.  By  morning 
nearly  all  the  men  were  stripped,  and  needs  must  stalk 
about  in  blankets  while  their  clothing  was  being  cleaned. 

"  'Twas  the  mosquitoes  east  of  the  mountains," 
laughed  George  Shannon.  "  Now  'tis  the  fleas  west 
of  tne  mountains." 

But  the  fleas  were  a  slight  matter,  when  amidst 
grand  scenery  the  Columbia  River  ever  bore  the  canoes 
onward,  toward  the  ocean  and  the  end  of  the  long,  long 
journey. 

After  the  Echeloots  (whom  the  violin  and  the 
dancing  had  so  entertained),  more  Indians  were  met. 
The  banks  of  this  Columbia  were  thickly  populated. 
These  Indians  lived  in  wooden  houses,  too — houses 
walled  and  raftered  with  planks  faced  and  trimmed  by 
fire  or  by  knives  and  little  axes.  The  houses  were 
furnished  with  bedsteads. 

"As  good  houses  as  some  settlers'  houses  back  in 
the  Illinois  country,"  declared  Captain  Clark,  who  was 
constantly  exploring  among  them. 

The  canoes  that  the  Indians  cleverly  managed  were 
large,  hollowed  from  a  single  log,  with  high  bows 

213 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

curving  upward;  farther  on  down,  bows  and  sterns 
both  were  high,  and  had  figures  of  men  and  beasts. 
Some  of  the  Indians  owned  articles  of  white  men's 
manufacture,  which  they  said  came  from  below. 

"  What  you  say  dese  hyar  Injuns  call  demselves, 
Marse  Will  ?  "  York  was  heard  to  ask. 

"  Skilloots,  York." 

"An'  what  were  dose  we  met  'foh  we  met  dese 
Galoots?" 

"  The  Chilluckittequaws,  York." 

"  Jes'  so,"  gasped  York.  "  But  /  ain't  gwine  to 
say  it." 

On  November  2  the  canoes  were  partly  carried 
around,  partly  slid  through,  the  rapids  which  formed 
the  foot  of  other  rapids  termed  by  the  captains  the 
Great  Shute.  Presently  the  river  opened  two  miles 
wide,  and  smooth  and  placid.  That  night  the  water 
rose  nine  inches  on  a  stake  set  at  the  river's  edge  in 
front  of  the  camp. 

"  We're  in  tidewater,  lads ! "  announced  Captain 
Lewis.  "  The  ocean  tides  ascend  this  far.  That  means 
there  are  no  more  rapids ;  the  ocean  itself  cai  \  be  very 
distant." 

Each  night  after  this  a  stake  was  set  out  and 
the  rise  measured.  Each  day  the  men  sniffed  for  the 
smell  of  salt  water  and  listened  for  the  sound  of  the 
surf.  Sa-ca-ja-we-a  was  very  much  excited;  she  had 
come  especially  to  see  the  big  water. 

During  the  night  of  November  4  the  rise  from  the 
214 


HOORAY  FOR  THE  PACIFIC 

tide  was  two  feet ;  the  next  night's  rise  was  four  feet. 
Ducks  and  geese  were  many.  But  it  rained  almost 
every  day,  and  every  morning  a  fog  hung  low. 

On  the  morning  of  November  7  the  camp  rose  and 
breakfasted  in  a  wet  mist  so  dense  that  it  hung  on  all 
sides  like  a  gray  curtain. 

"At  this  rate/'  quoth  Pat,  as  the  canoes  headed  out 
into  the  silence,  "  we're  liable  to  get  half  way  to  Chiny 
afore  we  know  we're  on  the  Paycific  at  all." 

"  I  do  believe  I  smell  salt,  though,"  asserted  George 
Shannon,  sniffing.  "  Sa-ca-ja-we-a's  been  insisting, 
too,  that  she  could  hear  a  '  boom-boom/  ' 

"Listen!"  bade  Pat — and  they  paused  on  their 
oars.  Peter  thought  that  he  also  could  hear  a  "  boom- 
boom,"  low  and  dull,  but  he  wasn't  certain.  They 
went  on. 

The  captains'  boat  was  being  piloted  by  a  Wah- 
kia-cum  Indian,  now:  a  squat  ugly  man  who  wore  a 
queer  round  jacket  that,  according  to  the  men,  had 
come  from  a  ship.  The  river  was  growing  wider,  the 
fog  was  thinning  and  lifting — on  a  sudden  the  crew  of 
the  captains'  boat  waved  their  hats,  pointed  before, 
cheered  wildly.  The  cheer  passed  from  boat  to  boat. 
For  the  fog  ahead  had  swirled  into  fragments,  and 
below  it  was  an  expanse  of  tumbling  gray  water  on 
which  the  sun  was  trying  to  shine.  Occasionally 
sounded  a  muffled  "  boom,"  like  the  faint  growl  of 
summer  thunder. 

The  Pacific  Ocean !    But  they  did  not  reach  it  this 

215 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

day;  the  fog  closed  in  again,  and  the  rain.  They  did 
not  reach  it  the  next  day,  although  the  waves  were  so 
high  in  this,  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  that  half  the 
party  were  seasick ;  and  the  water  was  salty.  They  did 
not  reach  it  the  next  day,  nor  the  next.  Wind  and  rain 
kept  beating  them  back.  Sa-ca-ja-we-a  was  frightened. 

"  The  spirits  are  angry.  They  do  not  want  us  here," 
she  whimpered,  crouching  over  little  Toussaint,  under 
a  grass  mat  raised  on  a  pole. 

"  The  only  way  we'll  reach  the  sea  is  to  be  washed 
into  it,"  groaned  Pat.  "  Sure,  don't  the  very  stones  an' 
logs  come  a-rollin'  down  the  hills?  Now  for  the  first 
time  I  wish  I  hadn't  started,  an'  here  I  am  at  the  ind !  " 

Yes,  miserable  were  they  all.  There  was  no  chance 
to  dry  clothing  and  food,  and  scarcely  an  opportunity 
to  stir.  The  mouth  of  the  river  formed  a  wind-swept 
bay  miles  wide.  The  captains  thought  that  if  camp 
might  only  be  moved  around  a  point  ahead,  and  to  a 
high  sand  beach,  it  would  be  more  comfortable.  A 
deserted  Indian  village  stood  there,  with  no  inhabitants 
"  except  fleas";  and,  as  Pat  said:  "  We'll  be  all  the 
warmer  for  the  exercise  they  give  us." 

Not  until  the  afternoon  of  November  15  did  the 
opportunity  to  move  come.  The  sky  cleared,  the  wind 
suddenly  dropped ;  the  canoes  were  reloaded  in  a  hurry, 
and  the  point  was  rounded. 

Now  the  ocean  was  in  full  sight,  outside  the  bay; 
from  the  boards  of  the  Indian  houses  rude  cabins  were 
erected ;  hunters  and  explorers  were  sent  out. 

216 


XVI 

THE  WINTER  AT  FORT  CLATSOP 

BUT  no  ships  from  the  United  States  or  any  other 
nation  were  to  be  found.  Only  the  long  gray  swells 
appeared,  as  far  as  eye  could  see,  rolling  in  to  burst 
thunderously  upon  the  white  sands  and  the  niaked 
rocks;  and  the  only  people  ashore  were  the  Indians. 
Ships  and  white  men  had  been  here,  said  the  Indians, 
during  the  summer;  and  many  of  the  Indians  spoke  a 
curious  mixture  of  English  and  native  words.  Captain 
Lewis  discovered  a  place,  in  the  bay,  where  white  men 
had  camped. 

A  high  point  overlooking  the  lonely  ocean  was  given 
the  name  Cape  Disappointment. 

"  Now,  wouldn't  it  have  been  a  fine  end  to  our  trip 
from  the  Mississippi  clane  to  the  Paycific  if  a  nice  big 
ship  all  stocked  with  flour  an'  p'taties  an'  boots  an' 
socks  had  been  waitin'  for  us/'  quoth  Pat.  "  Sure, 
mebbe  the  United  States  has  forgotten  us." 

"  We'll  have  to  build  winter  quarters  at  once,  Will," 
said  Captain  Lewis.  "  The  rain  is  rotting  all  our  goods 
and  clothes,  and  spoiling  our  provisions.  We  must  get 
under  cover.  There'll  be  no  ships  before  next  summer, 
according  to  the  Indians." 

"  Timber  for  cabins,  wood  for  fires,  game  and 
fresh  water  for  the  messes,  and  shelter  from  the  ocean 

217 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

tides — let's  look  about,  then,"  answered  Captain  Clark. 
"  The  Indians  say  that  skins  and  meat  are  abundant  a 
little  way  south.'' 

Captain  Lewis  found  it — a  good  site,  on  the  south 
side  of  the  bay  formed  by  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia, 
and  three  miles  up  a  little  river  called  to-day  the  Lewis 
and  Clark  River.  It  was  back  ten  miles  from  the  ocean, 
and  in  the  midst  of  tall  pines,  with  great  shaking  bogs 
near,  on  which  elk  fed. 

The  first  fair  morning,  which  was  December  7, 
camp  was  moved  to  the  new  grounds. 

The  walls  of  the  seven  cabins  rose  fast;  and  when  it 
came  time  to  put  on  the  roofs,  Pat,  the  boss  carpenter, 
was  delighted  to  find  a  species  of  pine  that  split  into 
boards  ten  feet  long,  and  two  feet  wide,  with  never  a 
knot  or  crack. 

'The  finest  puncheons  I  iver  have  seen,"  he  asserted, 
"  for  floors  an'  roofs  both.  We'll  be  snug  an'  dry  in  a 
jiffy,  an'  all  ready  for  Christmas." 

"  It's  a  far  cry  back  to  last  Christmas,  Pat,"  spoke 
George.  "  We've  come  through  a  lot  of  country." 

"An'  here  we  are,"  reminded  Pat. 

Yes;  Christmas — Peter's  first  Christmas — was  in- 
deed a  long  way  behind.  That  Christmas  of  1804  had 
been  celebrated  in  new  Fort  Mandan  among  the  Man- 
dans  and  Minnetarees  beside  the  snowy  Missouri  River. 
What  were  Chiefs  Big  White  and  Black  Cat  doing  now? 
Was  Fort  Mandan  being  kept  ready  for  the  return  of 
the  Long  Knife  and  the  Red  Head? 

218 


THE  WINTER  AT  FORT  CLATSOP 

This  Christmas  of  1805  was  celebrated  in  new  Fort 
Clatsop,  among  the  flat-headed  Clatsops  and  Chinooks 
and  Cathlamets  at  the  mouth  of  the  rainy  Columbia 
River.  The  men  fired  a  volley,  before  breakfast,  and 
in  front  of  the  captains'  door  old  Cruzatte,  accompanied 
by  Drouillard  and  the  other  Frenchmen,  sang  a  lively 
Christmas  song.  But  there  was  no  feast,  because  the 
only  food  in  stock  was  some  roots,  pounded  fish,  and 
lean  elk  meat.  The  captains  distributed  a  little  tobacco 
to  the  men  who  smoked,  and  Peter  and  the  men  who 
did  not  use  tobacco  received  each  a  handkerchief. 

The  rain  poured  all  day,  but  the  cabins  were  tight 
above  and  below,  so  that  everybody  stayed  dry  and 
warm. 

Now  the  expedition  might  settle  down  to  the 
winter's  routine.  Chimneys  were  yet  to  be  put  up  for 
the  men's  cabins — fires  were  tried,  in  open  hearths  in 
the  middle  of  the  rooms,  Indian  fashion,  and  proved 
too  smoky.  A  fence  of  high,  close  pickets,  as  at 
Fort  Mandan,  needs  must  be  erected  to  guard 
against  attack. 

The  captains'  cabin  had  been  built  around  a  large 
stump,  smoothly  sawed;  this  was  their  writing  table, 
on  which  they  spread  their  maps  and  journals.  Cap- 
tain Clark  had  traded  with  the  Indians  for  a  panther 
skin  seven  feet  long;  this  made  a  good  rug.  York 
occupied  the  same  cabin.  Chaboneau  was  the  captains' 
cook ;  he  and  Sa-ca-ja-we-a  and  little  Toussaint  lived  in 
another  room,  built  on.  The  men  were  divided  into 

219 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLABK 

four  messes,  each  with  a  cook,  and  the  supplies  were 
doled  out  from  the  storehouse  every  morning. 

Drouillard,  the  chief  hunter,  and  George  Shannon, 
John  Collins,  Francois  Labiche  and  Reuben  Fields 
were  sent  out  to  hunt  for  elk  and  deer;  but  the  meat 
spoiled  so  quickly,  even  although  smoked,  in  this  damp 
climate,  that  Joe  Fields,  William  Bratton,  Alec  Willard, 
George  Gibson  and  Peter  Wiser  were  ordered  to  the 
seashore  with  kettles,  to  make  salt. 

They  built  a  furnace  or  fireplace,  of  stones,  and 
boiled  down  kettlesful  of  salt  water.  They  brought 
back  a  gallon  of  good  salt,  for  table  use  and  for  pre- 
serving the  meat.  All  winter  the  salt-makers  were  kept 
at  work.  Peter  served  his  turn. 

The  hunters  were  constantly  out,  chasing  elk  over 
the  bogs.  The  meat  not  eaten  was  salted  and  smoke- 
dried;  from  the  tallow,  candles  were  run,  in  reed 
moulds;  and  from  the  hides  the  men  made  shirts  and 
trousers  and  moccasins,  in  preparation  for  the  next 
journey.  The  captains  determined  that  the  whole  party 
should  return  by  land,  as  soon  as  the  travel  season 
opened.  No  ship  was  to  be  expected. 

The  captains  led  out  exploring  parties.  Captain 
Clark  gained  a  great  reputation  as  a  shot ;  with  a  single 
ball  no  larger  than  a  pea  he  clipped  off  the  heads  of 
geese  and  ducks. 

"  Kloshe  musquet !  Kum-tux  musquet !  "  exclaimed 
the  Indians.  "  Very  good  musket !  Do  not  under- 
stand this  kind  of  musket !  " 

220 


THE  WINTER  AT  FORT  CLATSOP 

Their  own  guns  were  rusty  flint-locks,  loaded  with 
poor  powder  and  gravel.  Their  bows  were  beautiful 
and  true,  but  were  not  strong  enough  for  killing  elk. 
They  were  not  nearly  so  strong  as  the  bows  of  the 
Otoes  and  the  Sioux,  decided  Peter;  not  nearly  so 
strong  as  his  own  Mandan  bow. 

The  Indians  from  all  around  visited  the  fort.  The 
Chinooks,  under  Chief  Com-com-ly,  who  had  only  one 
eye  ("  Same  as  me,"  chuckled  Cruzatte),  lived  on  the 
north  side  of  the  bay;  on  this  south  side  lived  the  Clat- 
sops,  under  Chief  Co-bo-way.  Nearer  the  sea  lived 
the  Tilla-mooks.  Up  the  Columbia  River  lived  Cath- 
lam-ets.  These  all  looked  much  alike,  being  small, 
ugly,  and  flat-footed  and  crooked-legged  from  squat- 
ting so  much  in  their  canoes  and  by  their  fires. 

They  were  well  acquainted  with  white  men.  One 
squaw  had  the  name  "  J.  Bowman  "  tattooed  on  her 
arm.  The  captain  spent  much  time  talking  with  them, 
and  learned  of  the  ships  and  the  white  traders  who  had 
been  in  here. 

"  Tyee  (chief)  Haley;  so  many  mast  (and  Chief 
Com-com-ly  held  up  three  fingers) ;  stay  long." 

And 

"Callalamet;  wood  leg;  trader." 

And 

"  Tyee  Davidson;  three  mast;  hunt  elk." 

And  so  forth,  all  of  which  the  captains,  particularly 
Captain  Lewis,  carefully  wrote  down. 

The  visitors  brought  provisions  and  goods  to  trade; 

221 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

fish,  a  little  elk  and  deer,  high-crowned  hats  woven  of 
grass  and  bark,  grass  bowls  that  held  water,  so  tight 
they  were;  grass  mats,  furs.  Some  of  the  chiefs  wore 
splendid  robes  of  sea-otter  skin.  These  were  priced 
very  dear,  for  the  Indians  were  shrewd  traders.  They 
wanted  fish-hooks,  knives,  and  files,  in  exchange  for 
ordinary  articles;  but  only  blue  beads  would  buy  the 
otter-skin  robes. 

For  one  otter-skin  robe  Captain  Clark  offered  a 
watch,  a  handkerchief,  a  dollar,  and  a  bunch  of  red 
beads. 

"  No,  no !  Tyee  ka-mo-suck !  "  refused  the  Indian. 
"Chief  beads." 

But  Sa-ca-ja-we-a  gave  to  the  captain  her  own 
girdle  of  blue  "  chief  beads,"  and  for  it  he  bought  a 
robe. 

There  were  several  new  roots  that  the  men  grew  to 
like.  One  root,  sha-na-taw-hee,  was  a  thistle  root, 
purple  after  it  had  been  roasted. 

"  Tastes  like  a  parsnip,  only  swater,"  declared  Pat. 

Another  root  was  cul-whay-ma ;  two  feet  long  and 

slender.     It  also  was  sweet  and  wholesome.     But  the 

best  root  was  the  wappatoo — "  a  rale  Irish  p'tatie," 

said  Pat. 

This  was  brought  down  by  Skilloots  and  the  Wah- 
ki-a-cums,  from  up-river.  It  was  a  species  of  lily,  and 
grew  in  the  lakes.  The  Indian  women  waded  in,  breast- 
deep,  and  poking  with  their  toes  loosened  the  bulbs, 
which  rose  then  to  the  surface.  That  was  cold  wc.-k. 

222 


THE  WINTER  AT  FORT  CLATSOP 

The  wappatoo  roots  were  held  at  a  rather  stiff 
figure,  because  they  could  be  traded  to  the  other 
Indians,  if  not  to  the  white  men. 

The  Clatsops  were  the  best  Indians.  The  Cath- 
lam-ets  were  treacherous ;  one  would  have  killed  Hugh 
McNeal  had  not  a  Chinook  woman  warned  Hugh. 
The  Chinooks  were  thievish. 

"  No  Chinook  shall  be  admitted  into  the  fort  with- 
out special  invitation/'  finally  ordered  Captain  Lewis. 

So  after  that  when  Indians  appeared  outside  they 
always  shouted :  "  No  Chinook.  Clatsop."  Or  "  Skil- 
loot,"  or  whatever  they  chanced  to  be  or  pretended  to 
be.  Another  order  was  issued  that  no  Indians  should 
remain  in  the  fort  over  night. 

The  Indians  brought  many  fleas,  too — "  the  wan 
thing  for  which  we've  nothin'  to  trade,"  as  said  Pat. 

The  greatest  excitement  of  the  winter  was  the 
arrival  of  a  whale.  Chief  Co-bo-way  of  the  Clatsops 
came  with  the  news,  and  also  with  three  dogs  and  some 
blubber.  He  said  that  the  whale  had  been  stranded 
ashore  near  the  Tillamooks'  village  down  the  coast. 
He  was  given  a  pair  of  old  satin  breeches,  and  went 
away  much  pleased. 

Joe  Fields  and  George  Gibson  appeared  at  the  fort 
with  the  gallon  of  salt  from  the  salt  camp,  and  with 
some  more  of  the  whale  blubber.  They  said  that  the 
Indians  all  were  flocking  to  the  whale  and  cutting  it  up. 
The  blubber,  when  cooked,  looked  and  tasted  like  beaver 
tail — it  was  very  good ;  and  Captain  Clark  immediately 

15  223 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLAKK 

organized  a  party  to  go  to  the  spot  and  get  what  blubber 
they  might. 

Naturally,  everybody  was  anxious  to  see  the  whale. 

"You'd  better  take  Peter,  hadn't  you,  Captain?" 
suggested  Captain  Lewis.  "  He's  a  boy — he  ought  to 
see  what  there  is  to  be  seen/' 

"  By  all  means,"  agreed  Captain  Clark.  "  Do  you 
know  what  a  whale  is,  Peter?" 

"A  big  fish,"  answered  Peter,  eagerly. 

"  Yes ;  a  big  warm-blooded  fish ;  a  fish  bigger  than 
a  buffalo." 

Now,  Sa-ca-ja-we-a  had  heard;  she  had  helped 
Chaboneau  cook  the  blubber  for  the  captains.  But  she 
had  not  been  invited  to  go.  In  fact,  all  this  time  the 
Bird-woman  had  not  been  even  so  far  as  the  big  water. 
She  had  worked  in  the  fort. 

Suddenly  she  did  a  very  surprising  thing,  for  an 
Indian  woman.  When  she  believed  that  she  was  to  be 
left  out  of  the  sightseeing  party,  she  wept. 

"  Why  you  want  to  go?  "  scolded  Chaboneau.  "  Ze 
capitaines  no  haf  time  to  wait  for  woman  with  baby. 
You  stay  by  ze  lodge  fire;  dat  is  place  for  womans." 

Sa-ca-ja-we-a  tilted  her  chin  at  him  and  went 
straight  to  Captain  Clark. 

"  Capitin !    I  speak  a  leetle." 

"What  is  it,  Sa-ca-ja-we-a?" 

"  I  come  long  way,  capitin.  I  carry  baby,  I  cold, 
hungry,  wet,  seeck,  I  keep  up  an'  I  no  complain.  I 
show  you  trail;  when  you  no  know  which  way,  I  say 

224 


THE  WINTER  AT  FORT  CLATSOP 

'  Snake  people  here,'  an'  you  find  Snakes.  When 
Indians  see  me,  dey  say :  '  Dis  no  war  party/  an'  dey 
kind  to  you.  When  you  get  hungry  for  bread,  I  gif 
you  one  leetle  bit  I  carry  all  way  from  Mandan  town, 
so  you  can  taste.  When  you  want  otter  robe,  I  gif  you 
my  belt,  an'  you  get  otter  robe.  I  been  here  all  dis 
time,  an*  I  not  yet  go  near  de  big  water  dat  I  travel 
many  days  to  see.  Now  dere  is  a  big  fish ;  odders  go, 
Chaboneau  say  I  mus'  stay  an'  care  for  Toussaint 

an'  help  cook.  I  feel  bad,  capitin — I — I -"  and  poor 

little  Bird-woman  hid  her  face  in  her  shawl  and 
sobbed. 

The  captain  placed  his  hand  kindly  upon  her 
shoulder. 

"  You  shall  go,  Sa-ca-ja-we-a.  You  shall  go  with 
us  and  see  the  ocean  and  the  big  fish;  and  Chaboneau 
can  stay  by  the  fire  and  tend  to  the  baby." 

Sa-ca-ja-we-a  smiled  and  dried  her  eyes.  Very 
proud,  she  made  ready.  But  Chaboneau  went,  too — 
because  he,  likewise,  wished  to  inspect  the  great  wonder 
which  had  been  cast  ashore. 

The  whale  was  105  feet  long.  The  busy  Indians 
had  stripped  it  to  the  bones,  and  with  difficulty  Captain 
Clark  managed  to  buy  300  pounds  of  blubber  and 
some  oil. 

Thus,  with  hunting,  trading,  and  making  garments 
of  leather,  the  winter  passed.  An  astonishingly  mild 
winter  it  was,  too,  of  little  frost  and  wet  snow,  but  of 
much  rain  and  fog  which  gave  the  men  rheumatism, 

225 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

and  which,  by  spoiling  the  f  ood  and  cutting  down  exer- 
cise, gave  them  boils  and  stomach  complaint,  also. 

The  captains  were  constantly  hoping  for  a  ship  and 
fresh  supplies.  None  was  sighted. 

So  February  merged  with  March.  The  elk  were 
retiring  from  the  low  country  to  the  high,  following 
the  grass.  On  some  days  the  fort  had  only  one  day's 
provisions  in  store. 

"  I  can  find  no  elk,  notting,"  complained  Drouillard, 
the  chief  hunter. 

The  Indians  hoarded  their  own  food  very  close,  to 
make  it  last  until  the  salmon  began  to  run  again,  in  the 
spring. 

"  Six  blue  blankets,  wan  red  wan,  five  striped  wans 
that  used  to  be  our  big  United  States  flag,  some  old 
breeches  an'  waistcuts,  an'  Cap'n  Clark's  artillery  dress- 
coat  an'  hat — faith,  that's  all  we've  got  an'  at  prisent 
prices  they  wouldn't  buy  a  square  meal,"  reported 
Patrick  Gass.  "  We'll  be  atin'  ourselves  naked." 

"  Dose  t'ings  be  need'  for  boats  an'  hosses,"  said 
Cruzatte.  "  Of  de  leetle  t'ings  we  haf  scarce  one  hat 
full.  How  we  go  back  four  t'ousand  miles  I  do  not 
know." 


XVII 

FRIENDLY  YELLEPT,  THE  WALLA  WALLA 

"  DROUILLARD,"  spoke  Captain  Lewis,  "  we  must 
have  another  canoe.  These  Indians  down  here  won't 
sell  us  any.  Try  what  you  can  do  up  the  river." 

It  was  the  middle  of  March.  The  captains  had  in- 
tended to  wait  until  at  least  the  first  of  April,  before 
starting  on  the  back  trail,  so  as  not  to  arrive  at  the 
mountains  until  June.  Then  the  snows  would  have 
melted,  and  there  would  be  game.  But  meat  already 
was  extremely  scarce  around  Fort  Clatsop;  the  ex- 
pedition would  better  start  at  once,  and  hunt  along 
the  way. 

"  I  try  de  Cath-lam-et — dey  haf  canoes,"  answered 
Drouillard.  "  But  dey  will  hoi'  dem  dear.  I  t'ink  I 
must  take  de  best  t'ings  we  haf.  Mebbe  you  let  me 
take  your  lace  coat,  capitaine?  " 

"  What !  My  only  dress  uniform  ?  "  exclaimed  Cap- 
tain Lewis.  "  Why  not  that  artillery  coat  ?  " 

"  But  that's  mine !  "  laughed  Captain  Clark. 

"  One  day  a  Cath-lam-et  see  your  lace  coat  an'  like 
it.  I  sure  I  get  canoe  for  it,"  persisted  Drouillard. 

"All  right,"  sighed  Captain  Lewis.  "Another  canoe 
we  must  have.  I'll  hold  councils  in  my  leather 
clothes." 

So  the  canny  Drouillard,  who  was  half  Indian  him- 

227 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

self,  went  up  the  Cath-lam-ets  and  traded  the  laced 
dress-coat  for  a  canoe. 

Sergeant  Pat  was  ordered  to  count  the  moccasins 
in  stock.  He  reported  338  pairs,  manufactured  during 
the  winter  from  the  hides  of  the  131  elk  and  twenty 
deer  that  had  been  killed. 

To  Chief  Co-bo-way  (or  Com-mo-wool),  of  the 
Clatsops,  was  given  the  fort  and  all  its  furniture.  He 
had  been  exceedingly  friendly;  and  now  he  appeared 
to  appreciate  the  gift  very  much. 

"  I  will  make  my  home  in  the  house  where  the 
white  chiefs  lived,"  he  declared. 

Captain  Lewis  and  Captain  Clark  and  several  of 
the  men  had  long  before  carved  their  names  into  trees, 
as  a  record  for  other  white  men  to  see.  And  there,  dn 
a  rock,  also  was  "  PETER/'  During  the  winter  Peter 
had  made  great  progress  in  reading  and  writing.  How- 
ever, something  more  official  and  explanatory  than  only 
inscriptions  on  trees  was  needed,  that  the  trading  ships 
which  came  in  might  know  and  might  carry  the  news 
to  the  world.  Therefore  the  captains  wrote  out  state- 
ments containing  the  names  of  the  party  and  maps  of 
the  country  explored.  The  notices  said : 

The  object  of  this  list  is,  that  through  the  medium 
of  some  civilized  person,  who  may  see  the  same,  it  may 
be  made  known  to  the  world  that  the  party  consisting  of 
the  persons  whose  names  are  hereunto  affixed,  and  who 
were  sent  out  by  the  government  of  the  United  States  to 
explore  the  interior  of  the  continent  of  North  America, 
did  penetrate  the  same  by  the  way  of  the  Missouri  and 


FRIENDLY  YELLEPT,  THE  WALLA  WALLA 

Columbia  Rivers,  to  the  discharge  of  the  latter  into  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  where  they  arrived  on  the  I4th  day  of 
November,  1805,  and  departed  the  23rd  day  of  March, 
1806,  on  their  return  to  the  United  States,  by  the  same 
route  by  which  they  had  come  out. 

One  copy  was  pasted  up  on  a  smooth  post  in  the 
headquarters  cabin.  Other  copies  were  given  to  the 
Clatsops  and  the  Chinooks,  who  promised  to  hand  them 
to  white  traders. 

"  Sure,  we'll  beat  the  news  home,'*  asserted  Sergeant 
Pat.  "  For  the  ships  '11  be  a  long  time  makin'  it,  by 
Chiny  an*  the  inds  o'  the  world,  while  it's  straight 
across  we  go." 

And  this  proved  truth.  Had  the  captains  only 
known,  at  the  very  time  the  notices  were  being  written, 
the  American  trading  brig  Lydia,  of  Boston,  Captain 
Hill,  was  cruising  along  the  coast,  and  in  the  first  week 
of  April  anchored  in  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  But 
the  other  Americans  had  been  gone  two  weeks,  and 
Chief  Coboway  was  ruler  of  Fort  Clatsop.  So  Cap- 
tain Hill  took  one  of  the  statements,  carried  it  to  China 
with  him,  and  delivered  it  at  Boston  not  until  May, 
1807. 

At  i  o'clock  of  March  23,  this  1806,  Fort  Clatsop 
was  abandoned ;  out  into  the  little  river  that  flowed  past 
it  the  five  canoes  glided,  and  headed  down  for  the 
Columbia — thence  eastward  which  was  homeward! 

The  men  swung  their  hats,  of  tattered  felt,  of  furs, 
and  of  Chinook  weave  from  grass  and  bark;  and 
cheered. 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

"  De  nex'  winter  we  spen'  in  de  United  States," 
rejoiced  Cruzatte.  "  I  play  my  feedle  at  Cahokia  an' 
make  de  pleasure  dere." 

"  We've  come  away  with  plenty  powder  and  lead, 
and  plenty  salt;  that's  one  good  job/'  remarked  Pat. 

The  powder,  sealed  in  lead  canisters,  had  kept  splen- 
didly. Now  there  were  140  pounds  of  it.  And  as  to 
salt — twelve  gallons  had  been  packed. 

"  It's  been  not  such  a  bad  winter,  after  all,  even  if 
we  did  have  only  six  clear  days  in  six  months,"  laughed 
George  Shannon.  "  Now  we'll  soon  be  rid  of  our 
rheumatism." 

Spring  had  arrived ;  for  although  the  weather  con- 
tinued wet  and  raw,  wild  fowl  were  feeding  in  the 
ponds,  the  gooseberry  and  honeysuckle  were  leaving 
forth  in  the  parks,  and  the  frogs  were  croaking  in  the 
marshes.  Many  Indians  were  met ;  they  were  gathering 
along  the  river,  to  wait  for  the  salmon  to  run  up  from 
the  sea. 

"  Next  full  moon,"  said  the  Indians.  "  No  salmon 
till  next  full  moon." 

"  The  second  of  May,  that  is,"  figured  Captain 
Lewis.  "  Well,  we  can't  wait.  We'll  have  to  depend 
on  our  guns;  for  if  we  wait,  winter  will  overtake  us 
on  the  Missouri.  Where  there's  nothing  to  shoot,  we 
can  live  for  a  time  on  dogs  and  horses." 

The  Indians  seemed  poor  and  starving.  Captain 
Clark  was  told  of  a  large  river  emptying  from  the 
south :  the  Multnomah,  which  is  the  Willamette.  He 

230 


FRIENDLY  YELLEPT,  THE  WALLA  WALLA 

ascended  it  a  short  distance,  and  there  found  some  of 
the  Neer-cho-ki-oo  tribe.  They  refused  to  sell  him  any 
wappatoo  roots.  But  he  tossed  a  match  into  a  fire ;  it 
blazed  and  frightened  them.  He  placed  a  magnet  on 
his  compass,  and  whirled  the  compass  needle  'round 
and  'round.  The  women  and  children  crawled  under 
the  bed-covers,  and  the  men  piled  wappatoo  roots  at 
his  feet.  The  captain  liked  to  do  this  sort  of  thing. 

He  returned  from  among  the  Multnomahs  with 
roots  and  five  dogs. 

The  Indians  were  not  all  friendly,  especially  those 
new  tribes  who  had  traveled  to  await  the  salmon.  The 
Clah-clel-lahs  threw  stones  at  the  canoes,  and  stole 
things;  John  Shields  had  to  defend  himself  with  his 
hunting-knife.  The  Wah-clel-lahs  stole  the  little  black 
Assiniboine  dog.  Captain  Lewis,  who  was  very  fond 
of  the  little  dog,  immediately  sent  Sergeant  Pryor, 
Drouillard  and  Hugh  McNeal  to  get  it  even  if  they  had 
to  shoot  the  thieves.  The  thieves  ran  off  and  left  the 
dog.  And  in  the  village  of  the  Skilloots  Captain  Lewis 
knocked  down  an  Indian  who  was  carrying  off  a  valu- 
able piece  of  iron. 

Among  the  Skilloots,  here,  quite  a  number  of 
articles  were  lost ;  so  that  Captain  Lewis  made  a  speech, 
to  say  that  he  and  his  men  were  not  afraid  and  were 
able  to  burn  the  village  if  necessary  to  stop  the  thieving. 

"  Yessuh !  Dese  hyah  Galloots  'd  better  watch  out/' 
agreed  York.  "  Marse  Merne  an'  Marse  Will  are  offi- 
shurs  of  the  'Nited  States  ahmy." 

231 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

However,  from  the  Skilloots  ten  horses  were  pur- 
chased with  blankets  and  Captain  Clark's  artillery  coat 
and  two  kettles,  and  two  more  were  borrowed.  William 
Bratton  was  too  ill  to  walk,  and  rode  one  of  the  horses. 
Nine  others  were  loaded  with  the  baggage,  to  take  it 
around  the  rapids.  One  horse  was  stolen,  and  Captain 
Clark  rode  the  twelfth  up  to  the  village  of  the 
E-nee-shurs. 

Three  of  the  canoes  were  broken  up  for  fuel. 
The  captains  hoped  soon  to  travel  altogether  by 
horses;  canoe  work,  against  the  current,  was  slow, 
hard  work. 

"An  amazin'  disagrayable  people/'  commented 
Sergeant  Pat,  on  the  Skilloots.  "  But  Twisted-hair  and 
his  Pierced  Noses  '11  be  gintlemen." 

The  E-nee-shurs  were  no  better  in  manners  and 
honesty.  The  horse  Chaboneau  was  leading  ran  away, 
and  spilled  his  pack;  an  E-nee-shur  made  off  with  a 
fine  robe,  and  before  it  was  returned  Captain  Lewis 
had  to  utter  more  threats. 

All  in  all,  the  trip  up-river  was  very  vexing,  until, 
finally  having  collected  enough  horses  for  the  baggage, 
so  as  to  do  without  any  canoes,  the  party  arrived  on 
April  27  at  the  Walla  Walla  village  where  lived  Chief 
Yellept  who  last  October  had  wanted  them  to  stay 
longer  with  him. 

"  We  will  visit  you  on  our  way  back,"  had  promised 
Captain  Clark.  Now  here  they  were — and  Chief  Yel- 
kpt  was  glad  indeed  to  see  them. 

232 


FRIENDLY  YELLEPT,  THE  WALLA  WALLA 

He  met  them  a  few  miles  below  the  village. 

"  Come  and  stay  with  me  three  or  four  days/'  he 
said  to  the  captains.  "  You  shall  have  more  horses, 
and  plenty  food.  I  am  wearing  the  little  medal  given 
me  from  my  white  father;  I  -hope  that  you  will  give 
me  a  bigger  one." 

The  village  was  six  miles  above,  opposite  the  mouth 
of  the  Walla  Walla  River.  Chief  Yellept  made  good 
his  word.  He  called  his  people  together,  to  tell  them 
that  they  must  be  hospitable  to  the  white  strangers; 
and  he  set  an  example  by  bringing  the  captains  an 
armful  of  wood  and  a  platter  of  three  baked  fish.  Then 
all  the  Walla  Walla  squaws  busied  themselves  with 
gathering  wood  for  their  guests.  Dogs  were  offered 
at  reasonable  prices. 

"  Dese  Wallow-wallows  'mos'  like  home  folks," 
declared  York. 

Forsooth,  it  was  difficult  to  get  away  from  the 
village,  so  friendly  were  Chief  Yellept's  people.  The 
chief  appeared  to  have  taken  a  great  fancy  to  the  Red 
Head,  and  presented  him  with  a  noble  white  horse. 

"If  the  Red  Head  will  give  me  a  kettle,  for  my 
lodge,  I  will  be  happy,"  said  Yellept. 

Among  the  Walla  Wallas  there  was  a  Snake  Indian 
prisoner,  with  whom  Sa-ca-ja-we-a,  much  to  her  de- 
light, could  talk  in  Sho-sho-ne;  and  the  Snake  could 
translate  for  her  the  Walla  Walla  speech. 

"  Tell  the  Sho-sho-ne  to  tell  Chief  Yellept  that  we 
have  no  kettles  to  give/'  directed  Captain  Clark,  to  the 

233 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

little  Bird- woman.     "  But  we  will  be  pleased  to  give 
him  something  else," 

"  Yellept  say  he  take  what  you  gif."  interpreted 
Sa-ca-ja-we-a. 

"  He's  a  fine  fellow.  You'll  have  to  give  him  your 
sword,  Will,"  suggested  Captain  Lewis.  "  He's  been 
wanting  it,  you  know." 

"All  right.  Believe  I'll  do  it.  I  couldn't  transfer  it 
to  better  hands,"  quoth  Captain  Clark.  "  That's  the 
last  of  my  official  garb,  Merne — and  you  haven't  much 
left  yourself!" 

Chief  Yellept's  eyes  shone  as  he  accepted  the  prized 
"  long  knife  " ;  and  shone  again  when  to  it  were  added 
powder  and  a  hundred  bullets  for  his  gun.  Now  he 
was  a  big  chief,  indeed. 

The  Bird-woman  had  spread  the  word  that  the 
white  chiefs  were  great  workers  in  medicine:  with 
their  magic  box  and  their  wonderful  knowledge  they 
healed  all  sicknesses.  Now  to  Captain  Clark  and  Cap- 
tain Lewis  the  Walla  Wallas  brought  broken  arms, 
stiff  knees,  and  sore  eyes,  for  treatment.  The  captains 
did  their  best. 

Not  until  the  second  morning,  following  a  grand 
dance  by  the  Indians,  at  the  camp,  might  the  expedition 
start  onward.  Chief  Yellept  had  informed  them  of  a 
short  cut,  across  country,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Walla 
Walla  River  to  the  Pierced  Nose  country  at  the  Koos- 
kooskee;  a  Skilloot,  who  had  been  guiding  the  ex- 
pedition by  land,  said  that  he  knew  the  trail,  and  a 

tM 


FRIENDLY  YELLEPT,  THE  WALLA  WALLA 

Pierced  Nose  who,  with  his  family,  was  returning  home 
from  a  visit  below,  volunteered  to  help  also;  Chief 
Yellept  lent  the  captains  two  canoes,  for  crossing  the 
Columbia  to  the  south  side  at  the  mouth  of  the  Walla 
tWalla,  where  the  new  trail  began. 

"  The  most  hospitable,  honest  and  sincere  Indians 
we  have  met  since  leaving  the  United  States,  Merne," 
asserted  Captain  Clark,  when  they  had  been  overtaken, 
a  day's  journey  out,  by  three  Walla  Walla  young  men 
who  had  hastened  after  to  restore  to  them  a  beaver- 
trap  that  had  been  forgotten. 


XVIII 

THE  PIERCED  NOSES  AGAIN 

"  THE  white  men  are  coming  back !  The  white  men 
are  coming!"  sped  the  glad  word  among  the  Cho- 
pun-nish  or  Pierced  Noses,  in  their  villages  100  miles 
up,  on  the  Kooskooskee.  "  They  will  make  us  well." 

And  the  white  men  were  indeed  coming,  by  the 
trail  from  the  Walla  Walla,  with  the  Snake  Indian 
prisoner  and  Sa-ca-ja-we-a  as  interpreters;  with  the 
Skilloot  and  the  three  Walla  Walla  young  men  as 
guides  (for  the  Pierced  Nose  and  family  had  taken 
another  trail)  ;  with  some  twenty  horses,  for  the  bag- 
gage, and  for  William  Bratton,  and  for  the  men  who 
had  sore  feet;  and  with  the  healing  medicine  box  con- 
taining, especially,  the  celebrated  eye-water. 

"  Let  us  wance  get  the  horses  we  left  with  Twisted- 
hair  an'  we'll  all  ride,  b'  gorry,"  quoth  Sergeant  Pat, 
limping  along. 

"On  ze  Kamass  Prairie  dere  will  be  plenty  root, 
plenty  game,"  rejoiced  Chaboneau.  "An'  mebbe  dere 
we  rest,  while  leetle  Toussaint  get  well."  For  little 
Toussaint  seemed  to  be  ailing. 

First  they  were  met,  before  reaching  any  village, 
by  an  old  friend,  Chief  We-ah-koo-nut,  and  ten  war- 
riors. We-ah-koo-nut  was  called  the  Bighorn,  because 


THE  PIERCED  NOSES  AGAIN 

he  always  wore,  hanging  from  his  left  arm,  the  horn 
of  a  mountain  ram. 

"  We  have  heard  that  you  were  coming,  and  have 
ridden  to  greet  you/'  said  Bighorn.  "  The  sight  of 
you  makes  our  sore  eyes  well.  We  have  no  food  for 
you  here,  but  to-morrow  you  will  reach  a  lodge  where 
everything  will  be  supplied." 

Before  breakfast,  in  the  morning,  the  lodge  was 
found,  on  the  bank  of  the  Lewis  or  Snake  River ;  but 
the  families  living  there  could  supply  only  two  dogs 
and  some  root  bread. 

Next  was  met  Chief  Tetoh,  or  Sky — the  honest 
fellow  who,  with  Twisted-hair,  had  helped  the  expedi- 
tion get  through  from  the  Kamass  Prairie  to  the  Timm 
falls  of  the  Columbia. 

"  Glad  to  see  you.  You  are  welcome,"  exclaimed 
Tetoh. 

"  Where  is  Chief  Twisted-hair?  We  have  come 
to  visit  our  friends,  the  Pierced  Noses,  again,  and  to 
get  our  horses,"  explained  Captain  Lewis. 

"  You  must  cross  the  Kin-oo-e-nim  (Snak*  River), 
here,  and  go  to  the  Kooskooskee,"  replied  Cmei  Tetoh. 
"  There  you  will  find  the  Twisted-hair,  who  has  your 
horses." 

So  they  crossed,  in  canoes  lent  to  them  by  Tetoh, 
and  arrived  at  the  Kooskooskee  or  Clearwater. 

"  Eye-water,  eye-water,"  begged  the  Indians.  Cap- 
tain Clark  traded  a  small  bottle  of  the  eye- water  for  a 
gray  mare. 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

"  You're  the  doctor,  Will/'  laughed  Captain  Lewis. 
"  From  now  on  we'd  better  charge  a  fee.  We'll  get 
more  meat  that  way  than  with  our  guns  or  goods." 

Accordingly  Captain  Clark,  who  handled  the  medi- 
cines, exchanged  his  services  for  provisions.  But  the 
Indians  appeared  to  be  very  poor,  and  the  "  doctor's  " 
fees  in  dogs  and  horses  and  roots  did  not  amount  to 
much. 

"  Marse  Will  won't  nebber  make  a  libbin'  at  doc- 
torin',  dat's  suah,"  finally  admitted  York,  with  a  shake 
of  his  head.  "Anyhow,  he  ain't  killed  anybody  yet." 

Chief  Twisted-hair's  village  was  up  the  Koos- 
kooskee  some  miles.  Chief  Sky,  and  another  chief 
named  Cut-nose,  rode  along  with  the  captains.  When 
questioned  about  the  horses  and  the  saddles,  they  would 
give  no  straight  answer ;  but 

"  S'pose  no  get  'um  horse,  no  get  'um  saddle,"  said 
Sa-ca-ja-we-a. 

"Why  is  that?" 

"  Sho-sho-ne  say  he  hear  saddles  gone,  horses 
gone." 

That  was  alarming  news. 

"An*  Twisted-hair  seemed  like  a  fine  gintleman," 
bemoaned  Sergeant  Pat. 

"  We  can  get  more  horses,  can't  we,  Pat?  "  queried 
Peter.  "  We  see  lots  of  horses." 

"  Yes,  an'  how' 11  we  buy  'em,  when  each  man  of 
us  is  down  to  a  couple  o'  needles,  a  bit  of  thread  an'  a 
yard  or  so  of  ribbon,  with  a  pinch  o'  paint  for  an 


THE  PIERCED  NOSES  AGAIN 

extry?  "  retorted  Pat.  "  We'll  have  to  cut  the  buttons 
off  our  clothes,  I  guess.  Cross  the  mountains  on  foot 
ag'in  we  won't  an'  can't.  They're  waist-deep  in  snow." 

For  the  mountains  were  looming  ahead,  white  and 
wintry,  although  this  was  May. 

r<  The  Twisted-hair,"  announced  Chief  Sky,  point- 
ing before.  And  Chief  Twisted-hair,  with  six  men, 
met  the  procession. 

Twisted-hair  was  not  at  all  in  a  good  humor.  He 
refused  to  shake  hands,  he  scarcely  noticed  the  cap- 
tains, and  suddenly  he  and  Cut-nose  (a  very  ugly  man 
whose  nose  had  been  laid  open  by  a  Snake  lance,  in 
battle)  were  quarreling  in  a  loud  voice. 

"What's  this  all  about,  Chaboneau?"  demanded 
Captain  Lewis.  "Ask  Sa-ca-ja-we-a  to  have  the  Sho- 
sho-ne  interpret." 

"  Ze  Sho-sho-ne  will  not,"  reported  Chaboneau. 
"  He  say  dees  is  quarrel  between  two  chiefs  an'  he  haf 
no  right  to  interfere." 

"  We'll  go  on  a  bit  and  camp  and  hold  a  council, 
Will,"  directed  Captain  Lewis  to  Captain  Clark. 
"  Then  we'll  get  at  the  bottom  of  this  business.  There's 
evidently  something  wrong  with  the  horses  and  saddles 
we  left." 

At  camp  the  captains  first  smoked  and  talked  with 
Twisted-hair.  He  said  it  was  true  that  the  horses  were 
scattered,  but  Cut-nose  and  another  chief,  the  Broken- 
arm,  were  to  blame.  They  had  been  jealous  of  him 
because  he  had  the  white  men's  horses;  and  being  an 

16  239 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

old  man,  he  had  given  up  the  horses.  Some  were  near, 
and  some  were  at  the  village  of  the  Broken-arm,  a  half- 
day's  march  east.  As  for  the  saddles,  the  cache  had 
fallen  in  and  they  might  have  been  stolen,  but  he  had 
hidden  them  again. 

Then  the  Cut-nose  talked.  He  said  that  the  Twisted- 
hair  was  a  bad  old  man,  of  two  faces ;  that  he  had  not 
taken  care  of  the  horses  but  had  let  his  young  men 
ride  them,  to  hunt,  until  the  Broken-arm,  who  was  a 
higher  chief,  and  he,  Cut-nose,  had  forbidden. 

"  It  is  not  well  that  the  chiefs  quarrel,"  reproved 
Captain  Lewis.  "  Only  children  quarrel.  We  will 
take  what  horses  there  are  here  and  we  will  go  on  to 
the  village  of  the  Broken-arm,  for  the  other  horses.'* 

This  seemed  to  satisfy  everybody.  Twisted-hair's 
young  men  brought  in  twenty-one  of  the  forty-three 
horses  and  half  the  saddles,  besides  some  of  the  powder 
and  lead  that  had  been  buried,  also.  That  night  Cut- 
nose  and  Twisted-hair  slept  together. 

The  Broken-arm  and  his  Nez  Perces  lived  in  one 
large  straw-and-mud  house  150  feet  long.  Over  it  was 
flying  the  United  States  flag  that  had  been  given  to 
the  nation  on  the  way  down  last  fall.  Broken-arm 
ordered  a  hide  tent  erected  for  the  white  chiefs;  his 
women  hastened  there  with  roots  and  fish;  and  when 
the  captains  offered  to  trade  a  lean  horse  for  a  fat  one 
which  might  be  killed,  Broken-arm  declined. 

"  When  our  guests  come  hungry,  we  do  not  sell 
them  food,"  he  declared.  "We  have  many  young 

240 


THE  PIERCED  NOSES  AGAIN 

horses.    All  those  you  see  on  these  plains  belong  to  me 
and  my  people.    Take  what  you  need  for  food." 

"  Niver  before  did  we  have  the  Injuns  offer  us 
somethin'  for  nothin',"  gasped  Patrick  Gass.  "At  laste, 
niver  before  were  we  told  to  go  help  ourselves!  " 

"  The  Walla  Wallas  were  as  obliging.  Don't  for- 
get the  Walla  Wallas,  and  Yellept,"  reminded  George 
Shannon. 

Two  weeks  were  spent  near  the  big  house  of  the 
Broken-arm,  for  whom  another  name  was  Black  Eagle. 
Captain  Clark  was  appointed  official  doctor;  he  had 
fifty  patients  at  a  time.  Captain  Lewis  held  a  council, 
and  told  the  warriors  about  the  United  States.  They 
promised  to  make  peace  with  the  Sho-sho-nes.  Labiche 
killed  a  bear. 

"  These  are  great  hunters.  They  kill  the  bear, 
alone/'  exclaimed  the  Pierced  Noses. 

Hunters  were  sent  out  every  day,  to  get  bear,  and 
deer,  and  elk — whatever  they  could.  The  other  men 
were  sent  out  to  trade  for  roots  and  fish. 

Little  Toussaint  grew  better.  William  Bratton 
could  not  walk,  but  he  was  put  into  a  hut  of  boughs  and 
blankets  built  over  a  hole  in  which  there  had  been  a 
fire.  Water  was  sprinkled  into  the  hole.  The  hot 
steam  soaked  William  through  and  through.  He  was 
then  plunged  into  cold  water,  and  sweated  again  in  the 
hut.  This  was  Indian  treatment,  not  white  man's. 
And  it  cured  Bratton,  after  even  Doctor  Red  Head 
had  failed. 

241 


OPENINGTEE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLAEK 

Most  of  the  saddles  and  all  the  horses  except  two 
were  delivered.  These  two,  said  Broken-arm,  had  been 
stolen  last  fall  by  old  Toby  and  his  son  on  their  way 
back  to  Chief  Ca-me-ah-wait.  There  now  were  sixty- 
five  horses  on  hand — enough  for  the  baggage  and  for 
the  men.  Everybody  might  ride.  So  much  food  had 
been  purchased,  that  buttons  (as  Pat  had  predicted) 
were  being  traded  in,  and  John  Shields,  blacksmith, 
was  making  awls  out  of  the  links  of  a  beaver-trap 
chain. 

"  We  must  start  on,  or  we  won't  reach  Fort  Mandan 
before  winter,"  announced  Captain  Lewis. 

"  No,  no,"  objected  Twisted-hair  and  Sky,  and  all. 
"  Too  much  snow.  Much  water  come  down.  The  trail 
over  the  mountains  is  not  open.  Wait  till  the  next  full 
moon,  and  the  snows  will  have  melted." 

"  The  salmon  will  soon  be  running  up  the  river. 
Wait,  and  you  shall  have  food/'  said  Cut-nose. 

"If  the  white  chiefs  are  hungry,  let  them  kill  and 
eat  my  horses,"  said  Chief  Ho-has-til-pilp,  the  Red 
Wolf,  with  a  wave  of  his  arm. 

"We  thank  the  Red  Wolf.  But  we  shall  need 
guides.  Will  the  chiefs  send  some  young  men  with 
us,  to  show  us  the  way  over  the  mountains?  "  asked 
Captain  Lewis. 

"  When  there  is  grass  for  the  horses,  on  the  Road- 
to-the-Buffalo,  we  will  send  young  men,"  promised 
Chief  Broken-arm.  "  But  not  until  after  the  grand 
council  of  all  the  Pierced  Nose  nation,  on  the  Kamass 

242 


THE  PIERCED  NOSES  AGAIN 

Prairie.  In  the  summer  we  will  all  go  to  the  buffalo 
plains  of  the  Missouri,  if  the  white  chiefs  will  protect 
us  from  the  Snakes  and  Pahkees." 

"  Hold  high  the  peace  flag  we  have  given  you,  and 
it  will  turn  your  enemies  into  friends,"  instructed 
Captain  Lewis. 

The  Grand  Council  was  not  to  be  held  for  two  or 
three  weeks  yet.  By  the  close  of  the  first  week  of  June 
the  river  had  fallen  six  feet,  showing  that  the  snows 
were  partially  melted.  The  captains  decided  to  push 
along  without  guides. 

"  We  cannot  wait  till  July  and  the  full  moon,  boys/' 
declared  Captain  Lewis,  in  an  address  to  the  company. 
"  It's  only  1 60  miles  from  the  Kamass  Prairie  to  our 
old  camp  on  the  other  side  at  Traveler's  Rest  Creek, 
and  there  we'll  be  done  with  the  snow.  If  no  guides 
overtake  us,  Drouillard  and  Labiche  and  some  of  the 
rest  of  you  are  as  good  trailers  as  the  Indians,  and 
can  lead  us  through." 

"  Hooray !  "  cheered  all  They  were  as  anxious 
as  the  captains  to  go.  They  were  in  fine  fettle.  They 
had  been  playing  prisoner's  base,  among  themselves, 
and  had  been  running  foot-races  with  the  Nez  Perces, 
to  harden  their  muscles.  In  the  races  only  one  Indian 
had  proved  as  fast  as  Peter  and  John  Colter,  the  Amer- 
ican champions. 

Now  on  June  10  camp  was  broken,  and  the  march 
to  the  mountains  begun. 

"  Ten  days  '11  see  us  through,"  confidently  declared 
Pat. 

243 


XIX 

BACK  ACROSS  THE  MOUNTAINS 

TRAVELER'S  Rest  Creek,  at  last !  But  Pat's  "  ten 
days  "  had  lengthened  into  twenty,  for  this  was  June  29. 

There  had  been  good  reason.  To  be  sure,  the 
Kamass  Prairie  had  been  found  all  abloom  with  the 
kamass,  so  that  the  host  of  pale  petals  had  made  it  look 
like  a  lake.  The  wild  roses  were  in  flower ;  the  ground 
squirrels  were  busy,  and  supplied  tender  tidbits.  But 
when  the  company  tried  to  climb  they  encountered 
snow  fifteen  feet  deep,  covering  the  grass  and  the 
trail,  and  the  air  was  that  of  winter.  Game  was  very 
scarce. 

The  captains  shook  their  heads,  and  called  a  council 
of  the  company. 

"  We  can't  go  on  in  this  fashion,  men,"  said  Cap- 
tain Lewis.  "Already  we're  short  of  food,  and  so  are 
the  horses.  Even  if  we  knew  the  trail,  and  could  travel 
at  our  best,  we've  four  days  yet  until  we  reach  grass 
on  the  other  side.  If  we  lost  the  trail,  in  the  snow, 
we'd  be  lost,  too.  So  Captain  Clark  and  I  have  decided 
that  we  all  must  return  to  the  Kamass  Prairie,  kill  more 
meat,  and  see  if  the  Nez  Perces  won't  furnish  us  with 
guides.  The  snow  holds  the  horses  up,  and  with  ex- 
perienced guides  we  can  make  good  time.  Failing  of 
guides,  we'll  try  again,  anyway — sending  our  best 

244 


BACK  ACROSS  THE  MOUNTAINS 

woodsmen  ahead  to  note  the  marks  on  the  trees  and  to 
blaze  the  trail.  But  first,  Drouillard  and  Shannon  will 
start  back  immediately,  to  the  Nez  Perce  grand  council, 
which  is  now  in  session,  and  offer  two  guns  for  some 
guides.  They'll  join  us  on  the  prairie." 

This  sounded  sensible,  although  everybody  did  hate 
to  retrace  steps.  The  going  down,  amidst  snow-hidden 
rocks  and  timber,  was  cruel  work. 

Drouillard  and  George  Shannon  were  gone  for 
almost  a  week.  When  they  reappeared  they  brought 
three  young  Nez  Perces  warriors  as  guides.  Then  a 
quick  trip  was  made.  The  first  day  out  the  guides  set 
fire  to  the  timber,  in  order,  they  said,  to  "  make  fair 
weather."  They  led  rapidly.  They  never  missed  the 
trail.  Whenever  the  snow  thinned,  in  spots,  there, 
underfoot,  was  the  trail,  plain  to  be  seen — the  great 
Nez  Perce  Road- to-the- Buffalo,  from  the  west  of  the 
mountains  to  the  east.  Even  Drouillard  and  Sa-ca- 
ja-we-a  exclaimed  with  approval  of  such  accurate 
guiding. 

All  the  old  camps  of  the  fall  before  were  passed. 
The  Hungry  Creek  camp,  where  Captain  Clark  had 
left  the  horse  hung  up,  and  where  Peter  and  Reuben 
Fields  had  supped  on  the  horse's  head;  the  camp  of 
September  17,  from  which  Captain  Clark  had  set  out 
ahead  to  find  the  Nez  Perces ;  the  camp  of  September 
1 6,  where  the  spotted  colt  was  killed;  the  camp  of 
September  14,  where  the  black  colt  was  killed. 

"  Sure,  I'm  glad  we're  goin'  the  other  way,"  re- 

245 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

marked  Pat.  "  I've  no  pleasant  recollections  of  the 
first  trip,  when  we  were  afoot  an'  starvin'." 

And  the  other  men  agreed  with  him. 

On  the  fifth  day  the  mountains  had  been  crossed. 
On  the  sixth  day  the  snow  had  ceased,  and  the  head 
of  Traveler's  Rest  Creek  was  reached.  On  the  next 
day,  June  30,  they  hastened  down  the  creek,  and  soon 
were  camped  again  at  its  mouth — the  camping  spot  of 
September  n,  before! 

"  Here  we  are,  back  in  the  Missouri  country,  boys/' 
cheered  Captain  Clark.  "  We've  been  clear  through  to 
the  Pacific  and  not  lost  a  man!  " 

"An'  nebber  killed  an  Injun,"  added  York.  "  But 
we  mighty  nigh  had  to." 

"  May  nave  a  fight  yet,"  quoth  George  Gibson. 
"  We  ought  to  have  met  some  of  the  Oo-tla-shoots 
hereabouts.  The  guides  are  afraid  to  go  on.  They 
claim  their  friends  have  been  wiped  out  by  the  Pahkees 
or  Blackfeet." 

"  Dey  much  'fraid,"  spoke  Drouillard.  4<  Dey  see 
de  tracks  of  two  Injuns  barefoot." 

As  Peter  himself  knew,  Indians  who  were  barefoot 
were  likely  to  be  Indians  in  distress. 

However,  the  captains  did  not  appear  to  be  alarmed. 
The  news  was  spread  that  the  company  were  to  be 
divided.  Captain  Clark  and  party  were  to  travel  south- 
ward, along  this,  the  east  side  of  the  mountains,  get 
the  canoes  and  other  stuff  where  they  had  been  hidden 
at  the  first  meeting  place  with  Chief  Ca-me-ah-wait's 

246 


BACK  ACROSS  THE  MOUNTAINS 

Shoshones.  Then  half  the  party,  under  Sergeant 
Ordway,  were  to  descend  the  Jefferson,  from  there, 
with  the  canoes  and  other  stuff,  into  the  main  Missouri 
and  on  to  the  White-bear  Islands  camp  at  the  Great 
Falls. 

The  other  half  of  the  party,  under  Captain  Clark, 
were  to  cross  eastward,  by  land,  to  the  Yellowstone 
River,  and  descend  that  to  its  mouth  in  the  Missouri. 

The  Captain  Lewis  party  were  to  continue  east- 
ward from  this  present  camp  on  Traveler's  Rest  Creek, 
and  try  to  follow  the  Pierced  Nose  Road-to-the-Buffalo 
to  the  Great  Falls  of  the  Missouri ;  there  they  were  to 
meet  Sergeant  Ordway,  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yel- 
lowstone they  all  were  to  meet  Captain  Clark. 

Now,  with  which  party  did  Peter  wish  to  go  ?  The 
Captain  Clark  trip  sounded  very  interesting — down 
that  Yellowstone  River,  where  no  white  men  had  been. 
Sa-ca-ja-we-a  was  to  guide  him,  too,  across  country. 
But  the  Captain  Lewis  trip  also  sounded  interesting — 
all  by  land,  through  another  unknown  country,  to  the 
wonderful  falls  again.  On  this  trip  there  would  be 
good  hunting — and  possibly  the  Black  feet  Indians. 

The  Sergeant  Ordway  trip  sounded  the  least  inter- 
esting, for  it  meant  merely  floating  down  the  same 
rivers  that  they  had  toiled  up. 

However,  Peter  was  a  soldier  and  had  no  choice. 
So  he  waited  anxiously  while  the  captains  made  their 
selections.  It  was  like  choosing  sides  in  the  game  of 
prisoner's  base. 

247 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLABK 

For  Captain  Clark:  Sergeant  Ordway,  Sergeant 
Nat  Pryor,  John  Shields,  George  Shannon,  William 
Bratton,  Dick  Windsor,  George  Gibson,  Hugh  Hall, 
Francois  Labiche,  John  Colter,  the  fast  runner,  John 
Collins,  Tom  Howard,  John  Potts,  Baptiste  Lepage, 
Alex  Willard,  Joe  Whitehouse,  Peter  Wiser,  Old 
Cruzatte,  York,  Chaboneau,  and  the  Bird-woman. 

For  Captain  Lewis :  Sergeant  Pat,  Joe  Fields  and 
Reuben  Fields,  Drouillard,  the  hunter,  William  Werner, 
Rob  Frazier,  Hugh  McNeal,  John  Thompson  and  Si 
Goodrich. 

Then  where  was  Peter?  Nobody  seemed  to  want 
him.  But  Sergeant  Pat  made  a  scrape  and  a  salute. 

"  Beg  your  pardon,  sorr,"  to  Captain  Lewis;  "  but 
are  we  to  lave  Peter  here  till  we  come  ag'in?" 

"  Ton  my  word!  "  exclaimed  the  captain.  "  No! 
He's  to  come  along  with  us,  of  course.  He's  in  your 
charge,  Pat,  remember." 

"  Yis,  sorr.    Thank  ye,  sorr,"  answered  Pat. 

And  Peter  was  glad. 

So  the  parties  separated,  Captain  CDark  to  the 
south,  and  the  place  where  the  canoes  and  goods  had 
been  left  last  August;  Captain  Lewis  to  the  east  and 
the  Great  Falls. 

"  Good  luck,  boys,"  was  the  final  word.  "  We'll 
all  meet  at  the  Missouri.  Then  down  we'll  go,  for 
home." 

The  Pierced  Noses  who  had  guided  across  the 
mountains  went  with  Captain  Lewis  a  short  distance 

248 


BACK  ACROSS  THE  MOUNTAINS 

itill,  to  show  him  the  shortest  route  along  the  Road- 
to-the-Buffalo.  Before  they  quit,  in  order  to  look  for 
their  friends  the  Oo-tla-shoots  or  Flat-heads,  the  cap- 
tain gave  them  presents  of  meat,  and  exchanged  names 
with  the  leader,  who  was  a  young  chief. 

The  young  chief  was  henceforth  to  be  known  as 
the  Long  Knife,  and  Captain  Lewis  was  to  be  known 
as  Yo-me-kol-lick,  or  White  Bear- skin  Unfolded. 

It  proved  to  be  only  nine  days'  travel  to  the  White- 
bear  Islands  camp  at  the  head  of  the  Falls  of  the 
Missouri,  and  during  all  the  way  not  an  Indian  was 
lighted,  although  fresh  sign  was  discovered — "  Black- 
feet  !  "  asserted  Drouillard.  "  De  Gros-ventres  of  de 
Prairie/' 

"  Those  Big-bellies  must  be  bad  Injuns,  I'm  thinkin', 
by  the  way  everywan's  afraid  of  'em,"  said  Pat. 

"  Very  bad,"  asserted  Peter.  For  even  the  Otoes 
of  the  south  feared  the  northern  "  Gros-ventres  "  as 
much  as  they  did  the  Sioux. 

There  had  been  plenty  of  buffalo,  bellowing  all  the 
nights;  but  there  had  been  a  tremendous  amount  of 
mosquitoes,  too,  which  bit  so  that  even  the  little  black 
dog  howled  with  pain. 

Now,  here  at  the  old  camp  were  the  "  white  bears/' 
as  pugnacious  as  before.  One  treed  Hugh  McNeal  and 
kept  him  treed  near  half  a  day,  after  Hugh  had  broken 
his  gun  over  the  bear's  head. 

Nobody  had  disturbed  the  articles  that  had  been 
left  here  last  summer.  Some  things  had  spoiled  from 

249 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

dampness;  but  the  frame  of  the  iron  canoe  was  all 
right,  and  so  were  the  cottonwood  wagon-wheels. 

"  Gass,  I'm  going  to  leave  you  in  charge,  here/' 
said  the  captain.  "  You  will  wait  till  the  Ordway  party 
come  with  the  canoes;  then  you  will  move  the  canoes 
and  baggage,  by  the  portage  trail,  to  the  foot  of  the 
falls,  and  proceed  on  down  the  river.  I  shall  take 
Drouillard  and  the  two  Fields,  scout  northward  and 
strike  the  Maria's  River,  which  I  wish  to  follow  down 
to  the  Missouri.  I  will  meet  you  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Maria's  River  on  the  fifth  day  of  August — if  all  goes 
well." 

"  Sure,  Cap'n,  do  ye  think  three  men  '11  be  enough 
for  ye?"  blurted  Pat.  "  Ye're  goin'  up  where  the 
bloody  Big  Bellies  live.  Give  me  Peter  alone,  an'  take 
the  rist.  Peter  an'  I  are  plenty  for  this  camp,  till 
Ordway  comes." 

"With  Drouillard  and  the  two  Fields  I'll  stand 
off  the  Blackfeet,"  laughed  Captain  Lewis.  "  Eh, 
lads?  "  And  he  sobered.  "  If  my  life  is  spared,  Pat, 
I'll  meet  you  on  August  5.  But  if  you  don't  hear  from 
us,  you  wait  till  the  first  day  of  September.  Then 
if  there's  no  word,  you  will  proceed  on  to  Captain 
Clark  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone.  Tell  him  that 
my  directions  as  commanding  officer  are  for  him  to 
carry  out  our  program  and  return  to  the  United  States, 
for  I  and  my  party  have  been  destroyed.  He  already 
knows  that  I  have  planned  this  side  trip  to  the  Maria's/' 

Pat  saluted. 

250 


BACK  ACROSS  THE  MOUNTAINS 

"Yis,  sorr.  An',  sorr  (his  voice  was  husky),  I 
hope  to  meet  ye  safe  an'  sound  at  the  mouth  o'  the 
Maria's." 

The  next  morning,  which  was  July  16,  the  captain 
took  Drouillard,  and  the  two  Fields,  and  six  horses, 
and  rode  away,  for  the  upper  Maria's  River  in  the 
country  of  the  Gros-ventres  of  the  Prairie. 

"Well,  boys,"  spoke  Pat;  "we're  now  siven  men 
an'  four  hosses,  an'  we'd  better  be  busy  fixin'  the  carts 
an'  trainin'  the  hosses  to  drag  'em,  ferninst  the  day 
when  Ordway  arrives  with  the  canoes.  I've  no  fancy 
for  play  in'  hoss  myself,  when  we've  got  the  rale 
animals." 

Nothing  especial  happened,  except  the  mosquitoes, 
until  the  arrival  of  Sergeant  Ordway  and  party.  One 
trip  was  made  to  the  lower  end  of  the  portage,  to  ex- 
amine the  white  pirogue,  and  the  caches ;  they  all  were 
safe.  Harness  was  manufactured,  out  of  elk  hide,  for 
attaching  the  horses  to  the  wagons. 

Sergeant  Ordway  appeared  at  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  of  July  19.  He  had  with  him  Colter, 
Cruzatte,  Collins,  Potts,  Lepage,  Howard,  Willard, 
Whitehouse,  and  Peter  Wiser ;  the  six  canoes  that  had 
been  sunk  in  the  Jefferson  River,  and  most  of  the  goods 
that  had  been  buried  in  the  cache,  when  last  August 
the  company  under  Captain  Lewis  had  set  out  to  fol- 
low Chief  Ca-me-ah-wait  to  the  Sho-sho-ne  camp  on 
the  other  side  of  the  pass.  Nothing  had  been  stolen 
or  injured. 

£51 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

The  Sergeant  Ordway  party  had  separated  from 
Captain  Clark  and  party  at  the  Three  Forks,  and  had 
come  on  down  without  adventure.  The  captain  prob- 
ably was  now  on  his  way  down  the  Yellowstone. 

"An'  how  were  Sa-ca-ja-we-a  an'  the  little  spal- 
peen?" asked  Pat. 

"  Fine  and  hearty.  The  Bird-woman  said  she  knew 
the  way  to  the  Yellowstone.  She'd  been  all  through 
that  country,  when  the  Sho-sho-nes  hunted  the  buffalo." 

When  the  canoes  were  loaded  upon  the  carts,  the 
horses  pulled  very  well,  for  buffalo-horses;  but,  just 
as  a  year  ago,  the  rain  and  the  mud  interfered,  the 
carts  broke;  besides,  Pat  was  taken  ill;  so  that  five 
days  were  required  for  carrying  canoes  and  baggage 
around  the  series  of  falls,  to  the  old  Portage  Creek 
camp  at  the  lower  end. 

One  canoe  was  worthless,  but  the  others  were  placed 
in  the  water;  so  was  the  white  pirogue;  the  blunder- 
buss or  swivel  cannon  was  unearthed  and  mounted  in 
its  bows,  as  before. 

"  Faith,  we're  gettin'  all  our  plunder  together, 
wance  ag'in,"  congratulated  Pat.  "An'  there's  more 
of  it,  an'  the  red  pirogue,  remember,  at  the  mouth  o' 
the  Maria's,  where  we're  to  meet  Cap'n  Lewis.  Do 
you  be  takin'  the  canoes  down,  Ordway,  an'  Peter  an' 
I'll  ride  by  land  with  the  bosses." 

The  mouth  of  the  Maria's  was  not  far — fifty  miles 
by  river,  according  to  Pat's  journal,  written  on  the  way 
up,  but  less  by  land.  The  Maria's,  as  Peter  recalled/ 

252 


BACK  ACROSS  THE  MOUNTAINS 

was  the  fork  of  'the  Missouri  where  camp  had  been 
made  while  the  captains  debated  which  route  led  to 
the  Columbia.  Captain  Lewis  had  explored  up  the 
Maria's  and  he  and  Captain  Clark  had  decided  that 
the  other  fork  was  the  right  channel — the  "  true " 
Missouri. 

Peter  and  Pat  covered  thirty  miles  this  first  day. 
They  saw  thousands  of  buffalo,  and  a  pack  of  wolves 
chasing  an  antelope.  Pat  shot  an  antelope,  with  his 
rifle,  and  Peter  killed  a  buffalo  with  his  arrows;  the 
next  morning  they  killed,  together,  six  antelope  and 
seven  buffalo — which  was  all  the  meat  that  they  could 
pack,  although,  as  declared  Pat,  they  might  have  killed 
a  hundred. 

Shortly  after  noon  they  came  in  sight  of  the  mouth 
of  the  Maria's.  Sergeant  Ordway's  party  with  the 
canoes  already  were  there,  and  ashore. 

"An'  ain't  that  Drouillard,  too?"  exclaimed  Pat. 
"  Yis !  An'  the  cap'n,  b'  gorry !  An'  the  two  Fieldses ! 
Somethin'  must  have  fetched  'em  back  in  a  hurry. 
Tis  only  July  28;  they're  a  week  ahead  o'  time." 

He  quickened  his  horse  into  a  trot,  and  leading 
each  a  horse  packed  high  with  meat  and  hides,  he  and 
Peter  hastened  forward  to  learn  the  news. 


XX 

CAPTAIN  LEWIS  MEETS  THE  ENEMY 

THE  party  seemed  to  be  overhauling  the  cache  here 
as  if  in  a  great  hurry  to  go  on;  but  the  captain  waved 
greeting,  and  Joe  Fields  straightened  up,  to  grin. 

"  Yez  got  back  mighty  quick,"  accused  Pat.  "Didn't 
yez  go  ?  An*  where  are  the  hosses  ?  " 

"  Sure  we  went,"  retorted  Joe.  "  Hosses?  We've 
turned  'em  loose,  of  course ;  and  you'll  be  turnin'  yours 
loose,  too,  in  a  minute.  So  tumble  off  and  I'll  help  you 
unpack.  There's  no  time  to  waste.  You  ought  to  've 
been  along,  Pat.  We  had  a  beautiful  brush  with  the 
Injuns." 

"Didn't  I  tell  yez?"  reminded  Pat.  "Annywan 
hurt?" 

"  None  of  us.  We  wiped  two  of  them  out,  though 
— and  a  ball  cut  the  captain's  ha'r.  'Twas  this  way," 
continued  Joe,  as  he  tugged  at  a  rope  end,  to  release 
the  pack  of  meat:  "  On  the  fust  day,  'fore  we  'd  gone 
more  'n  twenty  mile  from  the  falls,  we  struck  Injun 
sign  in  shape  of  a  wounded-buffler  trail;  and  after  that 
we  kept  guard  all  night,  for  fear  of  our  hosses.  When 
we  got  to  the  Maria's  we  turned  down,  after  scoutin' 
'round  a  bit.  Found  a  lot  of  old  Injun  lodges,  but 
didn't  see  any  Injuns  till  the  26th.  Then  the  cap'n 
sighted  a  bunch  o'  hosses,  thirty  of  'em,  through  his 

£54 


CAPTAIN  LEWIS  MEETS  THE  ENEMY 

spy-glass — and  next  several  Injuns,  on  a  hill,  lookin* 
at  Drouillard,  who  was  across  the  river. 

"  'Bout  half  the  hosses  were  saddled,  which  meant 
more  Injuns  somewhere  near.  Our  hosses  were  too 
tuckered  to  run  far,  and  of  course  we  couldn't  leave 
Drouillard ;  so  the  cap'n  said :  'We'll  go  right  on  to  those 
Injuns,  boys ;  put  on  a  bold  front,  and  we'll  have  it  out 
with  'em.  Don't  let  'em  think  we're  afraid.  They 
may  not  be  the  Gros-vent's.'  When  the  Injuns  fust 
saw  us  comin',  they  acted  like  they  were  more  afraid 
of  us  than  we  were  of  them.  But  we  finally  got  to- 
gether, the  cap'n  made  the  peace  sign,  and  told  'em  our 
other  man  had  the  pipe  and  after  he'd  come  in  we'd 
smoke.  So  Reub  and  one  of  the  Injuns  went  after 
Drouillard. 

"  There  were  only  eight  of  'em.  They  were  the 
Big-bellies,  all  right,  but  they  had  nothin'  except  two 
guns,  and  clubs  and  bows  and  arrers.  We  thought  we 
could  take  care  of  ourselves;  and  that  night  we  all 
camped  together.  The  cap'n  told  us  in  case  of  trouble 
to  stick  up  and  keep  together  and  save  the  baggage. 

"  We  slept  in  the  same  lodge  with  'em.  Tu 
had  given  three  of  'em  a  flag  and  a  medal  and  a  hand- 
kerchief ;  but  he  put  Reub  on  guard  for  the  night,  and 
told  him  to  watch  sharp  and  wake  us  quick,  so's  to 
look  after  the  hosses,  if  the  Injuns  tried  to  sneak  out. 
He  and  Drouillard  lay  down  with  the  Injuns,  and  Reub 
and  I  stayed  at  the  fire  in  the  lodge  entrance. 

"  I  went  to  sleep.    Just  at  sunrise  I  woke  up  with  a 

17  255 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

jump.  Reub  had  yelled — and  there  was  an  Injun  run- 
nin'  off  with  my  gun  and  his,  and  Reub  in  chase. 
Drouillard  was  up  and  yellin',  too — '  Let  go  my  gun ! 
Let  go  my  gun ! '  he  bawled,  and  I  see  him  wrestlin' 
with  another  Injun,  and  the  cap'n  aimin'  at  another 
with  his  pistol.  But  I  had  to  have  my  gun,  so  I  ran 
after  Reub  and  the  fust  Injun.  Before  I  got  there, 
Reub  had  caught  him  and  knifed  him,  and  had  both 
guns.  Drouillard  had  his  gun  by  this  time,  and  all  the 
Injuns  came  pourin'  out  of  the  lodge,  makin'  for  the 
hosses,  with  the  cap'n  and  his  pistol  f ollowin'  the  third 
Injun. 

"  We  drew  a  bead  on  the  fellow,  but  he  dropped  the 
cap'n's  gun,  and  the  cap'n  wouldn't  let  us  shoot.  *  Look 
out  for  those  other  rascals ! '  he  ordered.  '  They're  try- 
ing to  drive  off  the  hosses ! '  So  Reub  and  Drouillard 
and  I  ran  after  six  who  were  roundin'  up  the  most  of 
the  hosses;  and  the  cap'n  set  out  after  his  Injun  and 
another  who  were  drivin'  away  a  bunch.  He  made 
'em  leave  twelve,  but  they  kept  on,  with  his  hoss,  and 
that  he  was  bound  to  get.  He  didn't  have  his  bullet 
pouch  or  his  hat;  and  when  they  were  just  'bout  to 
disappear  in  a  little  gully  he  told  'em  to  surrender  the 
hoss  or  he'd  fire.  With  that  they  turned  on  him,  and 
fire  he  did,  downin'  one  of  'em  slick  as  a  whistle,  but 
the  fellow  had  life  enough  to  fire  back  an'  sent  a  ball 
through  the  cap'n's  ha'r. 

"  The  cap'n  had  only  his  pistol,  now,  so  he  quit, 
and  the  other  Injun  made  off  with  the  hoss.  Drouil- 

256 


CAPTAIN  LEWIS  MEETS  THE  ENEMY 

lard  had  turned  back  to  help  the  cap'n,  but  Reub  and  I 
follered  our  Injuns  till  we  got  four  of  our  own  critters, 
and  then  we  let  the  rest  go.  Didn't  matter,  'cause  there 
were  the  twelve  left  by  the  Injuns,  so  we'd  come  out 
ahead  in  the  little  game.  Besides,  we  had  the  lodge, 
four  shields,  two  bows  and  quivers,  and  a  gun.  Like- 
wise the  flag  we  'd  given,  and  the  medal — but  we  left 
the  medal  on  the  neck  of  the  Injun  Reub  had  killed,  so 
as  to  show  'what  kind  of  people  we  were. 

"  Well,  we  didn't  hang  'round  there  long,  you  bet. 
The  Injuns  had  said  the  main  band  was  only  a  day 
and  a  half  away,  and  when  the  cap'n  had  invited  'em 
to  bring  their  chiefs  to  council  he  of  course  told  'em 
where  our  camp  was — at  the  mouth  of  the  Maria's. 
Now  we  were  desperate  afraid  the  Injuns  'd  out-foot 
us  and  attack  you-all  at  the  river.  We  took  four  best 
horses,  and  only  what  meat  we  could  carry,  rode  a 
hundred  miles,  with  an  hour  and  a  half  of  rest,  camped 
at  two  in  the  mornin',  then  rode  another  twenty  miles 
and  struck  Ordway  comin'  down  with  the  canoes.  We 
got  aboard  and  here  we  are — and  the  cap'n  is  in  a 
powerful  hurry  to  join  Cap'n  Clark  below." 

That  was  true ;  for,  as  said  Drouillard :  "  Dose 
Blackfeet  now  will  hold  all  white  men  as  enemies." 

This  cache  had  caved  in,  and  much  of  the  supplies 
had  spoiled.  The  red  pirogue  also  was  found  to  be 
worthless,  except  for  its  spikes.  Captain  Lewis  hustled 
the  work  of  loading,  the  rest  of  the  horses  were  turned 
loose,  and  down  the  river  again  voyaged  all.  Sergeant 

257 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

Ordway  was  in  charge  of  the  five  canoes,  Sergeant  Pat 
and  squad  had  charge  of  the  white  pirogue,  which  was 
the  flagship. 

A  sharp  lookout  was  kept  for  the  Big  Bellies  on 
the  banks.  However,  nothing  happened.  The  mouth 
of  the  Yellowstone  was  several  days  ahead;  and  when 
it  was  reached,  no  Captain  Clark  or  others  of  that  party 
appeared  in  sight.  When  halt  was  made,  to  look  for 
sign,  traces  of  the  captain's  camp  were  found,  and  in 
the  sand  Lepage  discovered  the  scrawl : 

W.  C.  a  few  miles  further  down  on  right  hand  side. 

"  When  was  that  written,  Lepage,  do  you  think?  " 
queried  Captain  Lewis. 

"  Mebbe  two,  mebbe  t'ree  day  ago,"  said  Baptiste. 
"  De  rain  haf  washed  it." 

"At  any  rate,  he's  safe,"  uttered  the  captain,  with 
much  satisfaction.  "  I  expect  the  mosquitoes  drove  him 
out  of  here.  Whew !  "  For  the  mosquitoes  were  worse 
than  ever.  "  We'll  overtake  him  to-morrow." 

But  they  did  not  overtake  the  captain's  party  on  the 
morrow,  nor  on  the  next  day.  On  the  third  day,  which 
was  August  1 1,  the  canoes  stopped  to  take  aboard  some 
meat;  the  white  pirogue  continued  on,  until  Captain 
Lewis  espied  a  herd  of  elk  in  some  willow  brush,  near 
the  shore. 

"  Turn  in,  boys,"  he  bade.  "  Wait  here.  Come  on, 
Crtrzatte.  We'll  get  a  few  of  those  fellows." 

Out  he  leaped,  gun  in  hand ;  and  he  and  One-eyed 
Cruzatte  disappeared  in  the  brush. 


CAPTAIN  LEWIS  MEETS  THE  ENEMY 

"  Faith,  let's  hope  there  aren't  Injuns  there,  too," 
quoth  Sergeant  Pat.  "  It's  a  likely  place  for  an 
ambush." 

"  Hardly  stands  to  reason  there'd  be  elk  whar  there 
are  Injuns,"  remarked  Alec  Willard. 

Everybody  waited  anxiously;  gazed  and  listened. 
Two  rifle-shots  were  heard,  distant. 

"  There's  meat,  I  reckon,"  said  Alec. 

Presently  another  shot;  and  in  about  ten  minutes 
out  from  the  willow  brush  and  to  the  sandy  shore 
burst  Captain  Lewis.  He  was  running,  limping,  stag- 
gering— heM  been  wounded — the  left  thigh  of  his 
leather  breeches  was  stained  red ! 

"  To  your  arms,  boys !  "  cried  Sergeant  Pat. 

Captain  Lewis  staggered  on,  to  the  white  pirogue. 

"  I've  been  shot,  men,"  he  panted.  "  Not  mortally, 
I  think.  Indians  are  in  that  thicket.  Cruzatte  is  some- 
where there,  too." 

"  Did  you  see  any  Injuns,  cap'n?  " 

"  No;  the  ball  came  from  ambush,  just  as  I  was 
aiming  at  an  elk.  Gass,  take  the  men  and  follow  me. 
We  must  rescue  Cruzatte.  I'd  lost  sight  of  him." 

"Willard,  you  and  the  two  Fields,"  roared  Pat, 
springing  into  the  shallows.  "  The  bloody  Big-bellies 
ag'in!" 

But  Peter  went  also,  with  his  bow  and  arrows. 
Nobody  objected.  The  captain  led  on  for  about  one 
hundred  steps,  when  his  leg  gave  out  and  he  almost  fell. 

"  I  can't  travel,"  he  gasped.  "  I'll  return  to  the  boat. 

259 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

If  you're  overpowered,  Sergeant,  keep  your  men  to- 
gether and  retreat  in  good  order,  and  we'll  fight  from 
the  river." 

"Yis,  sorr."  And  Pat  gallantly  plunged  ahead, 
into  the  brush.  "  Kentucky  an'  the  Irish  ag'in  the  red- 
skins, lads,"  he  cheered.  "  But  mind  your  eyes." 

This  was  exciting.  The  willows  were  thick — good 
hiding-place.  Where  was  Cruzatte — poor  old  Cruzatte 
with  the  one  eye?  Peter  stuck  close  behind  Pat.  His 
nostrils  were  wide,  his  eyes  roved,  his  every  sense  was 
on  the  alert.  He  was  Oto  once  more.  Now  was  heard 
a  crashing,  before.  Elk?  Indian?  Hah! 

"  That's  a  mighty  quare  sort  o'  Injun,  to  be  makin' 
all  that  noise,"  muttered  Pat,  peering,  his  rifle  advanced 
at  a  ready. 

And  through  a  little  open  space  here  came  Cruzatte ! 
He  was  striding  along,  with  stained  hands,  his  rifle  on 
his  shoulder,  making  for  the  boats  and  plainly  much 
satisfied  with  himself. 

"  Hist !  "  said  Pat.    "  Cruzatte !    'Asy  now." 

Cruzatte  started,  and  crouched. 

"  Have  ye  seen  Injuns?  " 

"  Non,"  answered  Cruzatte.  "  I  shoot  one  elk, 
follow  'nodder." 

"  Come  back  to  the  boats  with  us,  an'  step  lively," 
ordered  Pat.  "  There  be  Injuns  'round.  They  shot  the 
cap'n  in  the  leg." 

"  My  gracious !  "  stammered  Cruzatte.  "  But  I  see 
no  sign." 


CAPTAIN  LEWIS  MEETS  THE  ENEMY 

"  Nayther  do  we.  Sure,  it's  powerful  suspicious," 
muttered  Pat. 

They  found  the  captain  all  prepared  to  defend  him- 
self in  the  pirogue.  He  had  laid  out  his  rifle,  pistol 
and  pike,  and  was  propped  behind  the  air-gun  that 
could  shoot  forty  times. 

"  What  did  you  discover?  "  he  challenged. 

"  Not  a  thing,  sorr,"  reported  Pat.  "An'  Cruzatte, 
here,  knows  no  more  about  the  Injuns  than  the  rist 
of  us." 

"  Where  have  you  been,  Cruzatte?  " 

"  I  shoot  wan  elk,  same  time  you  shoot.  Den  I  see 
nodder  in  brush,  I  shoot  at  heem,  he  vaneesh  an*  I  try 
to  find  heem,  but  he  get  away." 

"  Oh,  you  did !  How  much  of  him  did  you  see  when 
you  shot?  " 

"  B'  gorry,  you  shot  the  cap'n !  "  bellowed  Sergeant 
Pat.  "  That's  what  you  did.  Ye're  blind  as  a  mole ! 
B'  gorry,  you  shot  the  cap'n — ye  shot  your  commandin1 
officer,  an'  by  that  ye' re  to  be  coortmartialed  an'  shot 
yourself!" 

"  Non,  non !  "  wailed  old  Cruzatte,  wringing  his 
hands.  "  I  no  mean  to  shoot  heem.  I  see  wan  leetle 
brown  spot  in  brush — look  jus'  like  wan  elk- fur,  long 
way  off;  I  take  aim,  bang! — I  t'ink  I  see  elk  run,  an*  I 
run  to  ketch  heem.  I  no  mean  to  shoot  my  capitaine. 
It  wan  grand  mistake." 

"Didn't  you  hear  me  call?"  demanded  the  cap- 
tain. "  I  suspected  maybe  that  ball  came  from  your 

261 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

rifle  and  I  hallooed  as  loud  as  I  could.  Why,  by  the 
shock  you  couldn't  have  been  more  than  forty  paces !  " 

"  I  hear  netting.  I  hear  not  one  word,"  protested 
Cruzatte. 

"  The  ball  coming  from  so  close,  and  you  not 
answering,  I  of  course  thought  of  Indians,"  continued 
the  captain. 

"  B'  gorry,  give  me  wan  chance  at  him  an*  I'll  close 
his  other  eye,"  besought  Pat;  and  all  the  men  mur- 
mured angrily,  while  poor  Cruzatte  shivered  with 
fright. 

"  I  no  mean  to  shoot  my  capitaine,"  he  babbied. 

"  Never  mind,  men,"  said  the  captain.  "  It  was  an 
error.  My  leather  breeches  are  just  the  shade  of  an 
elk  hide,  remember.  Let's  dress  the  wound.  I  doubt 
if  it's  serious." 

The  ball  had  passed  clear  through  his  left  thigh, 
and  had  furrowed  the  right ;  but  it  seemed  not  to  have 
touched  the  bone  or  any  artery.  After  the  wounds  had 
been  dressed  and  lint  stuffed  into  the  holes,  the  canoes 
with  the  other  elk  hunters  arrived ;  and  not  waiting  to 
explain  much  the  captain  insisted  upon  them  all  pushing 
along,  to  catch  up  with  Captain  Clark. 

Now  that  he  himself  was  laid  up,  this  was  more 
necessary  than  before.  All  he  could  do  was  to  rest, 
half  sitting,  in  the  stern  of  the  white  pirogue.  His  leg 
had  so  stiffened  that  he  could  scarcely  move  it. 


XXI 

THE  HOME  STRETCH 

CAPTAIN  CLARK  was  safe  and  well,  with  all  his 
men,  and  only  a  short  distance  down  river !  This  was 
learned  the  next  day  from  two  white  trappers — the  first 
Americans  met  in  over  a  year.  Their  names  were 
Hancock  and  Dickson.  They  had  left  Illinois,  of 
the  United  States,  in  the  summer  of  1804,  and  had 
been  trapping  in  the  upper  Missouri  country  ever 
since. 

They  said  that  Captain  Clark's  party  had  passed 
them  yesterday,  but  had  lost  all  the  horses,  by  Indians, 
and  were  traveling  in  two  wooden  canoes  and  two  hide 
canoes.  The  captain  had  the  idea  that  Captain  Lewis 
and  party  were  ahead  of  him. 

Trappers  Hancock  and  Dickson  had  other  news, 
also.  They  had  seen  the  barge,  under  Corporal  War- 
fington,  on  its  way  from  Fort  Mandan,  last  summer, 
to  St.  Louis.  All  aboard  were  well.  Brave  Raven, 
the  Ankara  chief,  was  there,  bound  for  Washington; 
and  so  were  several  Yankton  Sioux  chiefs,  with  old 
Pierre  Dorion.  But  the  Mandans  and  Minnetarees 
were  at  war  with  the  Arikaras ;  and  the  Mandans  and 
the  Assiniboines  were  at  war,  too ;  and  the  Sioux  were 
"  bad."  So  that  the  peace  talks  by  the  captains  had 
not  buried  the  hatchet  very  deep. 

263 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

Anyway,  soon  after  noon,  this  day,  Captain  Clark's 
camp  was  sighted,  before. 

"What's  the  matter  here?"  demanded  Captain 
Clark,  the  instant  that  the  pirogue  grounded.  He  saw 
Captain  Lewis  lying  in  the  stern. 

"  Nothing  serious,  Will.  Merely  a  gun  wound,  in 
the  thigh.  Cruzatte  shot  me  by  accident." 

"  De  capitin  shot!  "  cried  Sa-ca-ja-we-a,  running  to 
him. 

"  I  not  mean  to,"  repe'ated  Cruzatte,  still  in  much 
distress.  "  I  t'ink  I  see  one  elk  in  brush." 

"  That's  all  right,  Cruzatte,"  consoled  Captain 
Lewis. 

Yes,  Captain  Clark's  party  all  were  here,  so  that 
the  whole  company  were  united  again.  The  captain 
had  had  a  successful  trip  down  the  Yellowstone.  The 
Bird-woman  (who  now  was  applying  some  Indian  salve 
to  Captain  Lewis's  wound)  had  proved  a  valuable  guide 
across  country.  Captain  Clark  was  emphatic  in  his 
praise  of  her.  George  Gibson  had  fallen  on  a  sharp 
piece  of  timber  and  driven  it  two  inches  into  his  thigh. 
Indians  had  early  stolen  twenty- four  horses,  and  had 
left  only  a  worn-out  moccasin  in  exchange.  Labiche 
had  trailed  them,  but  had  been  obliged  to  give  up. 

The  Yellowstone  was  a  fine  stream,  with  many 
beaver,  and  many  bear.  At  the  Missouri  the  mos- 
quitoes had  been  so  pestiferous  that  only  brief  camps 
could  be  made.  Little  Toussaint  was  bitten  so  severely 
that  his  eyes  were  puffed  shut,  and  the  mosquitoes 

264 


THE  HOME  STRETCH 

settled  so  thickly  on  the  captain's  gun-barrel  as  to  pre- 
vent his  taking  aim! 

"  We  achieved  one  important  thing/'  laughed  the 
captain.  "  We  named  a  river  for  York !  " 

"Yessuh!"  gabbled  York.  "Yessuh!  Bar's  a 
ribber  up  yahnduh  'long  de  Yallerstone  named  f oh  me : 
Yawk's  Dry  Ribber." 

Sergeant  Pryor,  George  Shannon,  Hugh  Hall  and 
Dick  Windsor  had  been  detailed  to  drive  the  remaining 
fifty  horses  overland  to  the  Mandan  town;  but  the  first 
night,  Indians  had  stolen  every  one  of  these,  also,  and 
the  squad  were  obliged  to  turn  back.  On  the  way, 
while  the  sergeant  was  asleep  in  camp  a  wolf  had  bitten 
him  through  the  hand,  and  and  tried  to  seize  Dick,  but 
George  Shannon  had  shot  just  in  time.  Back  again  at 
the  Yellowstone  they  had  manufactured  two  round 
canoes,  like  Mandan  canoes,  from  buffalo  hides 
stretched  over  basketry,  with  hoops  as  top  and  bottom. 
In  these  they  had  finally  caught  up  with  Captain  Clark. 

"  You're  in  command  now,  Will,"  said  Captain 
Lewis.  "  I  can't  do  much — I  can't  even  write  the 
records.  But  we're  in  the  home  stretch.  Let's  push  on 
as  fast  as  we  can." 

The  two  free-trappers,  Hancock  and  Dickson,  came 
down  in  their  canoe  to  go  with  the  company  as  far  as 
the  Mandan  town. 

"  Sure,  we'll  be  there  in  a  jiffy,"  proclaimed  Ser- 
geant Pat.  "  'Tis  wonderful  good  fortune  we've  had 
— - clane  across  to  the  Paycific  an*  nigh  home  ag'in,  an' 

265 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

only  wan  man  lost  an'  nobody  bad  hurt  but  the  cap'n." 

Now  Sa-ca-ja-we-a,  the  Bird- woman,  was  much 
excited;  for  she  was  near  home,  too.  The  first  day 
eighty-six  miles  were  covered.  The  next  day,  in  the 
morning,  they  arrived  once  more  at  the  Minnetaree 
village,  and  the  village  of  the  Mandans  opposite, 

"  Boom !  "  signaled  the  blunderbuss.  And  then 
again,  and  again.  The  Minnetarees,  the  Ah-na-ha- 
ways  or  Wassoons,  and  the  Mandans  flocked  to  the 
river  banks. 

"  Our  white  fathers  are  back !  "  they  cried,  one  to 
another. 

The  Indians  seemed  delighted.  It  was  a  great 
triumph — it  really  was  like  getting  home.  Sa-ca-ja- 
we-a  hardly  could  wait  for  the  boats  to  land.  Landing 
was  made  among  the  Ah-na-ha-ways,  but  headquarters 
were  immediately  established  among  Chief  Black  Cat's 
Mandans.  The  Bird-woman,  carrying  little  Toussaint, 
proudly  accompanied  Chaboneau  to  the  Minnetarees — 
which  was  her  village — to  invite  them  to  council  with 
the  white  chiefs.  Drouillard  was  sent  down  to  get 
Jessaume  and  Big  White. 

Captain  Clark  held  a  council  in  the  Black  Cat's 
village.  He  invited  the  chiefs  to  go  with  him  to  Wash- 
ington, and  call  on  the  great  white  father.  Black  Cat 
and  Le  Borgne,  the  one-eyed  Minnetaree  head  chief, 
and  old  Cher ry-on-a- Bush  and  others  answered.  They 
said  that  the  Sioux  would  kill  any  of  them  who  ven- 
tured down  the  river.  The  captain  answered  that  all 


THE  HOME  STRETCH 

would  be  protected  against  the  bad  Sioux,  and  would 
return  safe,  escorted  by  United  States  warriors  and 
loaded  with  presents. 

At  last  Big  White  agreed  to  take  his  wife  and  child 
and  accompany  the  Red  Head  and  the  Long  Knife. 

So  much  corn  was  brought  to  the  boats  that  it  all 
could  not  be  loaded.  Captain  Clark  presented  the 
swivel  cannon  to  the  Minnetarees. 

"  With  this  big  gun  we  have  announced  the  great 
white  father's  peace  words  to  his  red  children,  all  the 
way  up  the  Missouri,"  he  said,  to  Le  Borgne.  "  When- 
ever it  is  fired,  it  will  remind  you  of  these  good  words, 
and  you  will  think  upon  them,  and  live  at  peace  with 
your  neighbors." 

"  My  ears  will  always  be  open  to  the  words  of  the 
great  white  father,"  promised  One-eyed. 

Then  the  cannon  was  discharged,  and  the  Minne- 
tarees, much  pleased,  bore  it  into  their  village. 

The  start  was  to  be  made  the  next  day.  But  John 
Colter  was  not  going.  He  had  asked  permission  to 
turn  back,  up  the  Missouri  again,  with  the  two  trappers, 
Hancock  and  Dickson,  to  hunt  the  beaver.  And  Sa-ca- 
ja-we-a  and  Chaboneau  were  not  going.  The  Bird- 
woman  wished  to  go — she  wished  to  go  on  with  the 
Red  Head,  to  the  country  of  the  white  people,  and 
learn  more  of  their  ways.  Captain  Clark  offered  to 
take  her  and  little  Toussaint  and  Chaboneau,  and  put 
little  Toussaint  at  school  when  he  grew  up.  However, 
Chaboneau  shook  his  head. 

267 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

"  I  t'ank  you,  capitaine,"  he  replied.  "  But  in  San 
Loui'  I  haf  no  'quaintance,  I  would  haf  no  means  of 
makin'  my  support.  I  mus'  stay  here,  where  I  am 
known." 

So  everybody  bid  goodby  to  John  Colter,  to  Cha- 
boneau,  Sa-ca-ja-we-a,  and  little  Toussaint,  now  nine- 
teen months  old. 

"Good  luck!"  to  John. 

Five  hundred  dollars  in  wages,  and  the  blacksmith 
tools,  to  Chaboneau. 

To  Sa-ca-ja-we-a  the  captains  said: 

"  The  nation  of  the  United  States  will  not  forget 
Sa-ca-ja-we-a,  the  Bird-woman,  who  never  complained, 
who  carried  her  baby  clear  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  who 
made  friends  for  us  wherever  she  went,  and  who  helped 
us  across  the  Rock  Mountains." 

Sa-ca-ja-we-a  wept. 

At  the  village  of  Sha-ha-ka,  the  Big  White,  the  chief 
was  found  sitting  surrounded  by  weeping  women,  and 
taking  a  final  smoke  with  his  relatives  and  friends.  They 
all  feared  that  they  never  should  see  him  again.  To  them, 
it  was  a  long,  dangerous  journey  for  him  to  take. 
Chief  Le  Borgne  of  the  Minnetarees  requested  that  the 
white  chiefs  take  good  care  of  Big  White  And  they 
solemnly  promised. 

The  canoes  were  lashed  together  two  and  two,  in 
order  to  be  steadier  and  to  travel  faster.  Big  White 
and  his  wife  and  child  stepped  aboard  the  pirogue. 
Jessaume  and  his  wife  and  two  children  were  to  accom- 

268 


THE  HOME  STRETCH 

pany  Big  White  and  speak  for  him  to  the  great  white 
father  at  Washington. 

With  a  farewell  volley  and  a  cheer  the  boats  entered 
the  current.  The  Indians  had  crowded  to  watch  them 
leave. 

"A  month  more,  lads,  an*  we'll  be  in  St.  Louis/* 
jubilated  Pat.  "  Barrin'  accident,  we're  good  for  sixty 
miles  a  day." 

Fort  Mandan,  opposite,  was  passed ;  but  only  a  few 
pickets,  and  one  cabin,  were  standing.  All  the  rest  had 
been  burned  in  a  timber  fire.  Three  traders  were  met, 
coming  up-river.  Two  of  them  were  the  same  who 
had  been  at  the  Mandan  town  in  the  winter  of  1804. 
They  said  that  the  Sioux  were  on  the  war-path  against 
the  Mandans  and  Minnetarees — had  already  set  out, 
700  warriors. 

"  Do  not  tell  Sha-ha-ka,"  ordered  Captain  Lewis, 
to  Jessaume.  "  He  would  wish  to  turn  back." 

This  same  day  the  Arikara  villages  were  reached. 
Some  Cheyennes  were  here,  too.  Captain  Clark  held 
a  council  with  both  tribes.  They  all  were  very  friendly. 
Big  White  addressed  them,  and  they  listened.  They 
were  willing  to  be  at  peace  with  the  Mandans  and 
Minnetarees.  The  Arikaras  said  that  they  had  re- 
fused to  join  the  Sioux,  on  the  war-path.  They  wished 
to  send  more  chiefs  to  the  great  white  father  at  Wash- 
ington, but  were  waiting  until  Brave  Raven,  who  had 
gone  down  on  the  barge  last  year,  came  back  with  the 
white  father's  words.  The  Cheyennes  said  that  they 

269 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

were  afraid  of  the  white  people's  medicine,  but  they 
hoped  that  the  new  father  would  send  traders  and 
trappers  into  their  country,  to  show  them  how  to  live 
and  how  to  catch  the  beaver. 

On  the  last  day  of  the  council,  or  July  22,  Captain 
Lewis  was  able  to  walk  about  a  little,  for  the  first  time 
since  he  had  taken  to  the  boat. 

Rapidly  traveled  the  boats.  Wild  turkeys  were 
seen;  ripe  wild  plums  were  found;  the  grasses  were 
high  and  luxurious. 

"  We  gettin'  down  into  lower  country,"  chattered 
Drouillard,  happily. 

There  were  signs  of  many  buffalo.  On  July  29, 
20,000  in  one  herd  darkened  the  plain.  The  day  fol- 
io-wing, halt  was  made  in  a  wild  plum  orchard.  Every- 
body ate.  But  this  was  Sioux  country,  and  below  the 
wild  plum  orchard  sudden  exclamations  arose  from  the 
boats. 

"De  Sioux!" 

"  Look  at  the  bloody  rascals !  " 

"Tetons,  aren't  they?" 

"  Mebbe  Yankton.  They  act  like  they  want  to 
talk." 

Some  twenty  Indians  had  appeared  on  a  high  bank 
opposite.  One  man  with  them  wore  a  blanket-coat  and 
a  'kerchief  around  his  head.  He  might  be  a  French 
trader.  A  short  distance  farther  down  almost  a  hun- 
dred other  Indians  emerged,  to  the  shore;  from  their 
guns  they  fired  a  salute.  They  all  were  well  armed. 

270 


THE  HOME  STRETCH 

"Answer  the  salute,  Captain,"  directed  Captain 
Lewis.  "  It  may  be  a  peace  signal.  And  you  might 
go  near  them  and  talk." 

Captain  Clark  took  Drouillard,  Jessaume  and 
Cruzatte  and  crossed  to  a  sand-bar.  The  Indians  who 
met  him  there  said  that  they  were  Tetons,  under  Chief 
Black  Buffalo.  Black  Buffalo  had  been  the  chief  who 
had  made  trouble  two  years  ago,  so  Captain  Clark 
declined  to  have  anything  more  to  do  with  him.  He 
came  back  and  ordered  the  boats  to  prepare  for  an 
attack  and  proceed. 

"  I'd  like  wan  shot  at  them,"  muttered  Sergeant  Pat 

"  Do  not  fire  unless  you  are  fired  upon,"  enjoined 
the  captains. 

As  they  passed  the  Sioux  collected  on  the  hill, 
Second  Chief  Partisan  invited  them  to  land.  But  they 
knew  better ;  and  as  they  continued,  the  Partisan  struck 
the  earth  three  times  with  the  butt  of  his  gun,  and  all 
the  Indians  yelled  abuse. 

"  Dey  make  vow  to  kill  ev'ry  white  man,"  declared 
Drouillard. 

That  night  camp  was  pitched  on  a  bare  sand-bar  in 
the  middle  of  the  river,  so  as  to  be  safe  from  attack ; 
but  a  terrific  thunderstorm  blew  two  of  the  canoes  clear 
across  the  river.  However,  no  Tetons  turned  up,  which 
was  fortunate. 

"  The  Yanktons  next,  I  suppose,"  remarked  George 
Shannon.  "  They  were  a  pretty  good  set,  two  years 
ago." 

18  271 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

A  number  of  lodges  of  the  Yanktons  were  indeed 
waiting.  They  proved  very  friendly,  and  Captain 
Clark  held  a  council  with  them.  They  even  took  Chief 
Sha-ha-ka  by  the  hand  and  asserted  that  they  were 
o'beying  the  words  of  the  great  white  father  and  were 
at  peace  with  the  Mandans.  They  said  that  as  a  token 
they  had  kept  the  flag-pole  standing,  by  the  big  tree 
of  the  council  ground  below,  where  they  had  first  talked 
with  the  white  men.  And  sure  enough,  when  the  boats 
passed  the  spot  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  James  River, 
the  flag-pole  showed  plainly. 

Soon  another  white  man  was  met.  He  was  James 
Airs,  a  trader  on  his  way  up  from  St.  Louis,  to  the 
Sioux.  Being  so  lately  from  the  United  States  he  gave 
the  captains  much  news,  and  they  sat  up  nearly  all 
night  with  him. 

Now  the  region  was  very  familiar  ground,  to  Peter. 
The  Omaha  village  was  close  before.  Soon  after  leav- 
ing Mr.  Airs  they  sighted  the  bluff  where  Sergeant 
Charles  Floyd  had  been  buried.  They  landed,  to  pay 
the  grave  a  visit,  and  found  that  the  Indians  had  opened 
it.  The  captains  ordered  the  earth  filled  in  again. 
That  night  camp  was  made  on  the  sand-sprit,  at  the 
old  Omaha  village — the  very  spot  where  the  council 
had  been  held  with  Chief  Little  Thief  and  his  Otoes 
and  Missouris,  and  where  Peter  had  "  come  aboard." 
How  long  ago  that  seemed ! 

The  Omaha  village  was  still  deserted.  In  the  morn- 
ing Captain  Clark  called  Peter. 

272 


THE  HOME  STRETCH 

"  Well,  Peter,  would  you  like  to  go  to  the  Otoes 
again?  Are  you  tired  of  being  white?  " 

"  No,  please,"  begged  Peter.  He  had  been  afraid 
of  this — afraid  that  he  would  be  sent  to  the  Otoes. 
"  I  want  to  go  to  St.  Louis,  please." 

"  Go  you  shall/'  assured  the  captain.  "  Go  you 
shall,  Peter,  and  I'll  attend  to  you  myself." 

Hooray !  But,  reflected  Peter,  supposing  that  Chief 
Little  Thief  should  appear  before  they  started  on. 
However,  no  Chief  Little  Thief,  or  other  of  the  Otoes 
and  Missouris  did  appear. 

More  white  traders  were  encountered.  On  August 
12  there  hove  in  sight  two  pirogues;  aboard  them  vere 
none  other  than  Trader  Gravelines  himself,  and  old 
Pierre  Dorion !  Mr.  Gravelines  said  that  he  had  taken 
Chief  Brave  Raven,  of  the  Arikaras,  clear  to  Wash- 
ington, and  that  the  chief  had  seen  the  President,  but 
had  died  just  when  about  to  return  home.  Now  Mr. 
Gravelines  was  going  up  to  the  Arikaras  with  the  Presi- 
dent's words,  and  with  presents.  Old  Pierre  Dorion 
was  on  his  way  to  the  Yankton  Sioux  again,  hoping  to 
get  six  more  of  them  and  take  them  to  Washington. 

"  The  United  States  has  given  all  you  people  up 
for  lost,"  declared  Trader  Gravelines.  "  Nothing  has 
been  heard  from  you  since  you  left  Fort  Mandan. 
The  President  and  everybody  are  very  anxious.  We 
were  asked  to  inquire  about  you,  among  the  Indians." 

"  Faith,  an'  our  welcome  '11  be  the  more  hearty," 
asserted  Sergeant  Pat,  to  his  fellows. 

278 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

Boats  containing  trading  parties  were  met  con- 
stantly. Surely,  thought  Peter,  St.  Louis  cannot  be 
very  far  ahead.  At  a  fifty-miles-a-day  clip  the  boats 
proceeded.  Soon  the  captains  did  not  stop  even  to 
hunt;  and  camp  was  broken  before  daylight! 

August  20  another  glad  shout  arose. 

"  Cows,  boys !  Look  at  the  cows !  We're  near  the 
settlements." 

"  'Tis  the  best  sight  I've  seen  in  better'n  two 
years,"  proclaimed  Sergeant  Pat.  "  Faith,  I'm  in  that 
state  o'  mind  when  I  could  kiss  a  cow  on  the  nose !  " 

"What  is  cow,  Pat?"  invited  Peter,  staring. 

"  Oh,  murther,  an'  ye  don't  know !  "  bewailed  Pat. 

'  The  cow  be  the  bufflo  civilized,  Peter.     She  be  the 

white  man's  bufFlo.     She  gives  us  milk  to  drink  an' 

butter  to  ate,  an'  the  breath  of  her  is  swater'n  the 

prairie  breeze  an'  the  voice  of  her  is  beautiful." 

"La  Charette!  I  see  La  Charette!"  cried  old 
Cruzatte. 

La  Charette  was  the  first  white  man's  village !  The 
captains  ordered  guns  to  be  fired,  and  told  the  men  to 
cheer.  Down  to  the  shore  hastened  the  inhabitants. 
They,  too,  cheered.  They  talked  part  in  French,  part 
in  United  States.  What  a  chatter  sounded!  They 
almost  carried  the  men  to  the  houses. 

"  We  nefer  expec'  to  see  you  again ! "  they  ex- 
claimed. "  We  t'ink  you  all  scalped.  Haf  you  been 
far?" 

"  To  the  Pacific  Ocean,"  was  the  answer. 

274 


THE  HOME  STRETCH 

"  My  gracious !    Come  an'  tell  us." 

Drouillard  and  Cruzatte  and  Lepage  and  Labiche 
were  well-nigh  beside  themselves  with  joy.  They 
greeted  numerous  old  friends. 

"  Dees  is  the  best  part  of  all  de  trip,"  they  laughed, 
again  and  again. 

Assuredly,  the  villages  of  the  white  men  of  the 
United  States  must  be  pleasant  places,  thought  Peter. 

Sixty-eight  miles  had  been  rowed,  this  day.  With 
difficulty  could  the  men  get  away  from  hospitable  La 
Charette,  but  on  the  next  day  forty-eight  miles  were 
covered,  to  another  village,  St.  Charles.  Here  occurred 
more  excitement,  of  greetings,  and  dinners,  and  good 
beds.  The  captains,  and  all  the  men,  in  their  elk-hide 
clothes,  and  their  beards,  and  their  tan,  were  treated  as 
heroes;  and  Peter  was  not  overlooked — not  by  any 
means.  Nor  was  Sha-ha-ka,  the  Big  White.  He,  like 
Peter,  for  the  first  time  was  seeing  how  the  white  people 
lived. 

"  Sha-ha-ka  say  de  white  people  evidently  a  ver* 
good  people,"  announced  Jessaume.  "  But  he  anxious 
to  get  on  to  de  beeg  village  of  San  LouiV 

"  How  far  to  St.  Louis,  Pat?  "  asked  Peter,  eagerly. 

"  Only  twenty  miles.  With  an  'arly  start  we'll  ate 
our  dinner  there." 

Twenty  miles !  The  last  twenty  of  more  than  8000 ! 
No  wonder  that  all  the  men  were  impatient.  They 
made  great  plans.  At  St.  Louis  they  were  to  be  paid 
off  and  discharged. 

275 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

"  Extry  pay  an'  320  acres  of  land  do  we  each  get," 
repeated  Patrick  Gass.  "An'  we've  earned  it.  It's  glad 
I  am  not  to  be  with  John  Colter  this  minute,  trapsin' 
for  the  Yellowstone  ag'in." 

"  What'll  you  do,  Pat,  after  we  get  to  St.  Louis  ?  " 

"  Faith,  have  my  whiskers  trimmed  an'  get  my 
journal  published." 

"  I've  sold  my  journal  to  the  captains  for  ten  dol- 
lars !  "  boasted  Sergeant  Ordway.  "  It's  more  'n  you'll 
make  with  yours,  Pat." 

"  I  mean  to  try  for  an  officer's  commission,  in  the 
army,"  said  Sergeant  Nat  Pryor. 

"As  soon  as  I  get  cleaned  up,  I'll  strike  straight  for 
old  New  Hampshire,  and  spin  my  yarns  to  the  home 
folks,"  said  Ordway. 

"  I  intend  to  study  law.  Think  I'll  go  to  college," 
said  George  Shannon. 

"  I  stay  at  San'  Loui'  for  wan  time.  Den  mebbe  I 
haf  money  to  enter  de  fur  trade,"  said  Drouillard. 

"Captain  Clark  will  send  me  to  school,"  piped  Peter. 

"  That's  right,  Peter,"  encouraged  George.  "  You 
and  I'll  go  to  school." 

Those  were  long  twenty  miles.  First,  the  captains 
did  not  leave  St.  Charles  until  mid-morning,  because 
of  the  rain  and  the  entertainments.  Then,  three  miles 
below,  was  found  a  big  camp  of  other  United  States 
soldiers,  and  here  the  captains  stopped  for  the  day,  at 
the  log  house  which  was  the  principal  quarters. 

They  took  Sha-ha-ka  ashore ;  and  when  he  was  next 

276 


THE  HOME  STRETCH 

seen  by  the  company,  he  had  been  dressed  in  new  clothes 
— white  man's  clothes!  Of  these  he  was  very  proud. 
He  strutted  more  than  York  had  strutted  among  the 
Sioux  and  the  Arikaras  and  Mandans. 

"An'  why  shouldn't  he?  "  demanded  Pat.  "  He's 
better  dressed  for  polite  sassiety  than  the  rist  of  us !  " 

Seventeen  miles  to  go!  The  start  was  made  soon 
after  an  early  breakfast.  All  eyes  strained  ahead;  the 
men  pulled  lustily  on  the  oars.  Houses  and  small 
settlements  were  passed.  People  ashore  cheered. 
Toward  noon  another  large  river  was  sighted,  ahead ; 
its  course  was  marked  by  lines  of  trees.  The  Missouri 
emptied  into  it. 

"  The  Mississippi !  "  cried  the  men.    And  then 

The  captains  stood  up  in  the  white  pirogue.  Cap- 
tain Clark  looked  back,  at  the  canoes,  and  waved  his 
hat,  and  smiled.  Before,  on  the  right,  was  a  great 
collection  of  houses  set  amidst  trees — and  at  the  river 
bank,  near  where  the  two  rivers  joined,  loomed  a  huge 
(at  least,  to  Peter  it  seemed  huge)  whitish  stone  fort, 
flying  the  United  States  flag.  Many  boats  plied  the 
current.  St.  Louis! 

Captain  Clark  lifted  his  hand  and  called  an  order. 
But  already  every  rifle  in  pirogue  and  canoes  had  been 
leveled,  on  every  trigger  was  a  tense  finger — and 
"  Bang !  "  spoke  all  together. 

"Hooray!" 

Before  the  boats  had  touched  the  landing,  the  people 
of  St.  Louis  had  gathered  there  like  magic;  they  were 

277 


OPENING  THE  WEST  WITH  LEWIS  AND  CLARK 

running,  shouting,  jostling.  Exclamations  sounded 
again  and  again.  The  air  trembled  with  the  excite- 
ment. In  the  boats,  the  men  were  agrin — waving, 
calling,  and  old  Cruzatte  capering.  Only  the  captains 
and  Big  White  stood  motionless,  as  proper  for  chiefs, 
waiting  until  the  pirogue  made  landing. 

"Eetees  Lewis  an'  Clark!" 

"  Dey  haf  return'  from  de  dead !  " 

"Huzza!    Huzza!    Welcome  home !" 

"  Where  you  been,  these  two  years  and  a  half?  " 

Important  personages  pressed  forward,  to  grasp  the 
captains  and  shake  their  hands  vigorously. 

"  What  news,  Captains  ?  What  news  from  beyond 
the  Manclan  town?  Did  you  succeed  in  crossing  the 
mountains  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"And  how  much  farther?" 

"  To  the  Columbia  and  the  Pacific !  " 

"Marvelous!     Any  fatalities ?" 

"  Only  the  death  of  Sergeant  Floyd,  by  disease." 

"  And  what  distance  traveled  ?  " 

"  About  eight  thousand  miles." 

"  Remarkable !  The  world  shall  ring  with  your 
story." 

"  Yis,  we've  borne  the  greatest  flag  in  the  world 
to  the  other  side  the  greatest  country  in  the  world; 
an',  b'  gorry,  we're  all  here  to  tell  the  tale,"  pronounced 
Pat,  as  following  the  captains  the  men  (and  Peter!) 
sprang  to  the  waiting  arms. 

278 


525,4110*"      '^  PS^ 


Y.C  1 06635 


F325172 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


